After a two week hiatus, the women's crew is ready to test its skills against a barrage of teams in this week's New Hampshire Championships in Manchester. After a disappointing 26th place finish in the season's first meet, the squad hopes to rebound this weekend.
While the fall season is notably less competitive than the spring, the squad still uses each race as an opportunity to cash in on weeks spent working on endurance and timing.
"The fall is a time to focus attention on technique and endurance, to create a strong base that can be built upon in the spring sprint season," assistant coach Jessica Normand said. "I'm looking for the varsity teams to place in the top ten. It's a very attainable goal."
This week is no exception. With Holy Cross in sight and hopes of keeping Boston College in their wake, every boat is looking to improve on its last showing at the Textile Regatta. The team has spent the past few weeks working on technique and power-building.
"The boat has really come together in the past two weeks, we're really starting to feel like one unit," senior co-captain Shelly Nelson said. "We're lengthening the stroke out and getting much better run in return, the boat feels much more set."
During the fall season the stroke rating, which indicates how many strokes are taken per minute, is kept at about 28 to 32. For the shorter, faster races in the spring the rating is heightened to 36 to 38. For the races ahead, the team feels comfortable at a stroke rating of 32, coupling power with speed for the most effective stroke.
The New Hampshire Championships will measure both how well the team has come together and how prepared it is for the upcoming Head of the Charles Regatta. One of the most prestigious collegiate regattas, the Charles is only a week away.
"This race is both a test to determine if our hard work is paying off as well as a gauge to see how well we will compete at the Head of the Charles. We're really looking to be aggressive and see if it all pays off," junior Keffie Thebody-Feldman said.
The varsity boats are hoping to keep Holy Cross in their sights and keep BC at bay. Meanwhile, after a victory in its first race of the season, the first novice boat is looking to continue its winning ways. This will be the second novice boat's first race.
