Bates crews show impressively at Head of the Charles
BOSTON, Mass. — The Bates College crews opened their fall season at the 41st Head of the Charles Regatta in soggy, windy conditions over the weekend. The Bobcats fielded crews in both the men’s and women’s Collegiate Eights events.
Collegiate Eight – Men
While finishing 20th in a field of 41, Bates placed 14th among American crews and third in the Division III field, only 0.085 seconds behind the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and second in the NESCAC.
Along the way, the Bobcats, boating as first-year Brian Klein, first-year Charlie Biddle, senior Tim Austin, sophomore Jon Blanchard, first-year Tim Henderson, senior Colin Hollister, senior Nate Hubbell, senior Justin Streen, and sophomore coxswain Christian Ford, outpaced other NESCAC entries from Colby, Wesleyan, Middlebury, and Hamilton.
The men’s division of the Collegiate Eight event was won in impressive fashion by NESCAC rival Trinity College in 15:58.714, over 15 seconds ahead of the second-place crew.
Collegiate Eight – Women
The women’s crew of senior Megan Germscheid, sophomore Catherine Cluett, sophomore Emily Howeison, junior Laura French, sophomore Laura Director, sophomore Colleen Hanlon-Smith, senior Hallie Preston, senior Emily Hoffer and senior coxswain Katie Nolan had an impressive first outing of the season, with a preliminary finish of 16th in the field of 46 crews.
This result had the Bobcats positioned 14th among American crews and sixth among the Division III entries, and fourth in the NESCAC. But Bates was saddled with a 30-second interference penalty, which dropped them to 30th position overall.
The women’s division was again won by Trinity, again impressively, in 17:50.701, over 30 seconds ahead of the second-place crew.
Full results at http://www.hocr.org.