CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Bates women's rowing team's first varsity eight finished in third place and the men took fifth in their respective collegiate eights races Sunday at the Head of the Charles Regatta.
Women's first varsity eight sophomore coxswain
Lucy Del Col (Wellesley, Mass.) and her crew navigated the serpentine 4,800-meter course on the Charles River in 17:22.050, finishing third out of 40 crews and just 5.256 seconds behind collegiate eights winner Mercyhurst University, an NCAA Division II institution and the national runner-up at NCAAs last spring. Fellow NCAA Division III crew Wellesley took second place in 17:19.578. Fourth-place WPI finished well back of the top three in 17:38.077.
Led by sophomore coxswain
Olivia Seline (Delaware, Ohio), the women's second varsity eight placed 13th in 18:09.448, an improvement from a 16th-place showing back in 2019, the last time the HOCR was held due to last year's pandemic induced cancellation.
"After graduating 10 of the 21 on the NCAA 2021 national championship roster we're very happy with the performance of all three of the women's crews over the Charles weekend," head coach
Peter Steenstra said. "It shows a great deal about the depth and balance of the program, not to mention the determination of these athletes."
On the men's side, first varsity eight senior coxswain
Evan Saltman (Newfields, N.H.) and his crew turned in the second-best performance at the HOCR in program history, finishing fifth out of 39 crews with a time of 15:12.441. MIT won the race in 14:54.924. The Bates men outraced the likes of Williams, Hobart and the University of Michigan, among other prestigious crews.
The fifth-place finish is a huge improvement over the Bobcats' 17th place showing in 2019. The best performance at the HOCR in program history remains a third-place finish in 2017.
This marks only the fourth time in program history the men have sent two boats to the collegiate eights race and led by junior coxswain
Aidan Braithwaite (Milton, Mass.) the second varsity eight turned in its best performance ever by finishing in 25th with a time of 16:01.142.
"The men's team arrived on campus in September fit and eager for training and competition," Steenstra said. "The goal was to perform well at the Charles thereby catapulting themselves into the winter off-season hungry for more. I think it's safe to say that they have done that."
The Bobcats also sent a pair of fours to the Head of the Charles this year.
Led by first-year coxswain
Lucy Hagge (Dallas, Texas) the women's varsity four raced to the finish in 19:52.205, good for 8th out of 32 boats. The 8th place finish is the Bobcats' best in the Collegiate Fours in program history, surpassing 2019's 11th place showing. The Bates women's varsity four took third in the Club Fours at the Head of the Charles in 1994. The University of Calgary won this year's race in 18:34.740.
On the men's side, first-year coxswain
Rowan Cody (Madison, Wis.) led the varsity four to 16th place out of 40 boats with a time of 17:38.290. Vanderbilt won the race in 16:49.708.
Bates WV8 lineup: Bow: Kathleen King; 2: Hannah Burdick; 3: Sophia Marota; 4: Molly Connors; 5: Lillian Kinder; 6: Maeve Mikulski; 7: Eliana Weissmann; Stroke: Casey Winter; c: Lucy Del Col
Bates W2V8 lineup: Bow: Eloise Botka; 2: Rosie Crawford; 3: Livia Bernhardt; 4: Olivia Szachta; 5: Alexa Bowerfind; 6: Emma Vieten; 7: Ollie Young; Stroke: Genesis Bussey; c: Olivia Seline
Bates WV4 lineup: Bow: Darya Lee; 2: Hope Stamp; 3: Sydney Paul; 4: Margaret Horvat; c: Lucy Hagge
Bates MV8 lineup: Bow: Robert Sobolewski; 2: Jasper Tucker; 3: Charlie Berman; 4: Isaac Levinger; 5: Timothy Bates; 6: Steven Sparks; 7: Maxwell Cavallaro; 8: Espen Wheeler; c: Evan Saltman
Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow:
Sean Christiansen; 2:
Nicholas Van Ingen; 3:
William Corcoran; 4:
Jack Fruechte; 5:
Alexander Burbelo; 6:
William Crate; 7:
Benjamin MacDonald; 8:
Xavier Fallone; c:
Aidan Braithwaite
Bates MV4 lineup: Bow: Andrew Frey; 2: Benjamin Auerbach; 3: Riley Young; 4: Colton Sochia; c: Rowan Cody