Slow start hurts men's crew at Worcester meet

In crew, as in most races, so much depends on the start. In track it is known as "getting out of the blocks". In crew it is known as the start sequence. In a matter of seconds a boat must be traveling from zero to 42 strokes per minute or else it will watch the other teams fly by.

It was the start that hurt the men's varsity crew on Saturday at Worcester. The smooth, clean start that the Jumbos had hoped for eluded them and a sloppy beginning came in its place.

"Our pre-race starts were very good," senior Michael Friedberg said. "We were really smooth and we went through our opening five strokes very efficiently. Unfortunately we were just a little off when the real race began."

It was this bad start that suddenly turned the four-team race between Ithaca, Holy Cross, Connecticut College, and Tufts into a two-team race. Both Ithaca and Holy Cross began strongly and took that momentum to the finish line. The race ended in a photo finish, with the teams coming in less than 0.20 seconds apart. Ithaca edged Holy Cross with a time of 6:01.60.

As for the Jumbos, they never really got rolling and finished well behind with a time of 6:15.50. Their time was good for third place, as they easily came in fifteen seconds before Connecticut College.

The women's varsity team did not fare much better, finishing in 7:02.9. While the race was much closer than the men's, with the difference between the first and final boats being just 13 seconds, the Jumbos still came in at the tail end. They finished fourth, two seconds behind the boat from Connecticut College. Holy Cross took the win in a time of 6:49.2.

Both male and female second varsity Jumbo boats followed the examples of their first varsity counterparts, as they finished third and fourth, respectively. The women finished in 7:20.4, just over twenty seconds behind the victorious 6:59.2 Ithaca boat.

The men were five seconds off the leaders when they crossed the finish line. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, there was another boat between them and winner Holy Cross. In a time of 6:15.0, the Crusaders beat out second place Ithaca by just over a second, as well as the third place 6:20.0 Jumbos.

While both male and female first varsity boats boast just one win this season, the records will be thrown out the window when the teams participate in the New England Rowing Championships at Worcester next Sunday.

This championship race is easily the biggest meet for every team in New England, as each will be vying for a spot to compete in the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships. This year, the competition will unfold on the Cooper River in Camden County, New Jersey.

The teams now have two weeks of practice and work out all the kinks and the fine details in a sport where technique is of the utmost importance.

The New England Rowing Championships are wide open, with only a couple of spots almost guaranteed for the top teams in the region. It is very possible for both teams to finish their seasons with a flourish with strong finishes at the championships. "Records don't matter," said Friedberg. "All that matters is how much heart you have and your mentality."