BOSTON -- The Bates men's rowing team opened their spring season at the Charles River Racing Series on Saturday, taking on NESCAC foe Tufts and the Harvard Lightweights.

The crews battled rough conditions on the water throughout a cold morning in Boston, with floating starts -- necessitated due to a broken anchor -- impacting the consistency of the exact distances each boat raced.

Racing started bright and early at 7:48 a.m. with the Bates men's fourth varsity eight racing one-on-one against the Tufts 4V. The Bobcats crossed the finish line in 7:22.7 while Tufts won the race in 6:49.6. 

At 8:24, the Bates third varsity eight took advantage of a strong tailwind and raced to the finish in 6:08. But the Harvard Lightweights won the race in 5:48.9, with the Tufts 3V a close second in 5:49.5.

In what head coach Peter Steenstra called the team's strongest performance of the day, the Bates second varsity eight -- led by senior coxswain Izzy Beck (Upper Montclair, N.J.) and junior stroke George Fauver (Bedford, N.Y.) -- battled Tufts and the Harvard Lightweights in a close race for most of the way, ultimately finishing third in 6:19.6, with the Jumbos taking runner-up to the Crimson in 6:14.9.

The final race of the morning featured some bad luck for the Bobcats as the first varsity eight took on a lot of water in the tough conditions on the Charles, finishing third to Harvard and Tufts in 6:34.7.

"We've done the work, and put in the training," Steenstra said. "The conditions today weren't ideal, but I told the team that next week we really need to bring the fight when we take on Boston College." 

The Bobcats race the Eagles next Saturday in Boston.

Bates MV8 lineup: Bow: Luke Desmaison; 2: Lando Putnam-Bagley; 3: Jimmy Staller; 4: Conor McGuckin; 5: Oliver Firmenich; 6: Charles Renvyle; 7: Erik Lindholm; Stroke: Sean Christiansen; c: Darien Chiang

Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow: John Cleary; 2: Leo Sullivan; 3: Thomas Pacinda; 4: Nicholas Hoerle; 5: Kelly McKaige; 6: Alex Appleton; 7: Luke Johnson; Stroke: George Fauver; c: Izzy Beck

Bates M3V8 lineup: Bow: Finian Guinney; 2: Ian Van Loo; 3: Benji Richards; 4: Hugh McCabe; 5: Cooper Drazek; 6: Ben Auerbach; 7: Wiley Anderson; Stroke: Peter Gratwick; c: Micah Shimizu

Bates M4V8 lineup: Bow: Randy Li; 2: Louis Consigli; 3: Soren Davidson; 4: Sam Williams; 5: Xavier Drouin; 6: Aidan O'Brien; 7: Micah Johnson; Stroke: Diego Davalos; c: Melinda Kostrinsky