Bobcats of the Week

Bobcat of the Week of May 14, 2012: Men’s Rowing

The Bates men’s rowing team fielded three boats and made the Grand Final with all three for the first time on Friday at the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta and ECAC Rowing Championships, including a thrilling second-place finish in the men’s varsity eights, in the finest day ever for the Bobcat crew at its final championship regatta of the season.

The 2012 NICR marked a number of program firsts for Bates men’s rowing — the team saw all boats progress to the final, two podium performances, and a second-place overall finish in the NESCAC Championships.

Bates’ first varsity eight (MV8) finished second to Bucknell in the third of three preliminary heats, by the miniscule margin of 5:57.544 to 5:58.247, with WPI a close third (6:01.959) on the 2,000-meter course on Lake Quinsigamond. With all three heats posting times within only a few seconds of each other, the afternoon finals were sure to be tight.

The Bates men’s eight posted a brilliant final race of its season in the Grand Final, covering the 2,000-meter course in 5:58.398, only 2.242 seconds behind Williams. A third NESCAC crew, Trinity, came in third at 6:00.977. By defeating Trinity, the Bobcats avenged their only regular season loss of the year to the Bantams, on April 7 in Boston. Rounding out the six-boat race were the University of New Hampshire (6:01.942), Ithaca (6:02.607) and in sixth place, Bucknell at 6:03.581. With the regatta doubling as the NESCAC Rowing Championships, the Bobcats claimed second place in their conference for the first time, and made their first appearance on the medal dock at the event. The team’s best previous finish (sixth place) occurred in 2008.

The Bates M2V8 made the Grand Final for the second year in a row, after taking third place with a time of 6:20.758 in a very close preliminary heat to Williams (6:18.273) and WPI (6:19.887) while outpacing Hobart (6:22.579), Ithaca and Hamilton. Coming into the race ranked eighth, making the final was a huge accomplishment for Bates’ group of underclassmen. The M2V8 beat out Colby, Wesleyan, Hobart, Ithaca, Boston College, Rhode Island and Hamilton in making the Grand Final, where the Bobcats finished sixth in 6:22.751.

The final entry of the regatta was the men’s open fours. Coming off a bronze medal performance the weekend before at the New England Rowing Championships, Bates easily qualified for the afternoon final beating out Hobart by 9.6 seconds. In the final they were beaten off the line, but battled through the middle of the piece to come in second overall with a time of, 7:01.676, beating out UMass (7:16.593), the Marist B four, St. Lawrence and Hobart

Bates fielded a men’s four, too, which fared very well. The Bobcat boat placed second to Marist in its preliminary heat, then came second to Marist again in the Grand Final, 6:53.389 to 7:01.676, beating out UMass (7:16.593), the Marist B four, St. Lawrence and Hobart.

Lineups

Bates MV8 lineup: Matt Johns ’13 (Seaford, N.Y.) (bow); Edward Winslow ’13 (Wilton, Conn.); Garland Ditz ’14 (Colorado Springs, Colo.); Peter C. Miller ’12 (New York, N.Y.); Hank Schless ’14 (Old Greenwich, Conn.); Peter Haley ’13 (Cos Cob, Conn.); Peter K. Miller ’12 (Philadelphia, Pa.); Oliver Scholle ’12 (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) (stroke); Jacob Sandor ’14 (Montclair, N.J.) (cox).

Bates M2V8 lineup: Caleb Glassman ’14 (Radnor, Pa.) (bow); Nicholas Flynn ’15 (Wilton, Conn.); Warwick Mortimer ’15 (Locust Valley, N.Y.); Sam MacGregor ’14 (Princeton, N.J.); Andre Gobbo ’13 (Chesterfield, N.H.); Evan Cooper ’15 (Farmington, Conn.); Jon Frye ’14 (Duxbury, Mass.); Charles Carey ’13 (Lincoln, Mass.) (stroke); Margaret Carey ’14 (Lincoln, Mass.) (cox).

Bates MN4 lineup: Evan Dion ’15 (Truckee, Calif.); Ryan Conrad ’15 (Canton, Mass.); Alexander Hadiaris ’15 (Cape Elizabeth, Maine); Matthew Silverman ’15 (Lafayette, N.J.); Rachel Pedersen ’14 (Far Hills, N.J.) (cox).

Bobcat of the Week of May 14, 2012: Women’s Rowing

The Bates women’s rowing team earned the silver medal in the Grand Final of not only the women’s varsity eights (WV8), but in women’s second varsity eights (W2V8) and third varsity eights (W3V8) as well, the team’s best performance ever at the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta and ECAC Rowing Championships.

The NICR also doubles as the NESCAC Rowing Championship, making the Bobcats again the second-place team in the conference. Bates is a shoo-in to receive a sixth straight at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships, May 25-27 in West Windsor, N.J.

The Bates WV8, ranked second in the country as well as the entire Bobcat team, won its preliminary heat handily, 6:45.626 over 2,000 meters to beat out runner-up Trinity (6:52.250). Moving on to the Grand Final, Bates finished the course in 6:43.897, close behind Williams (6:39.048) and edging third-place William Smith (6:46.643), as well as Wellesley, Trinity and Ithaca.

The W2V8 beat six other boats in its prelim heat, including runner-up Wellesley by over four seconds, 6:51.297 to 6:55.350. In the Grand Final, Bates timed in at 6:53.269, second to Williams (6:44.596) and ahead of third-place Trinity (6:57.769) as well as Wellesley, William Smith and Ithaca.

The W3V8 won the second of two prelims, in 7:18.474, well ahead of runner-up Trinity (7:27.156). The W3V8 Grand Final was a thriller for second place, with the Bobcats beating Trinity by only 0.521 seconds, 7:14.370 to 7:14.891, with Ithaca close behind in fourth (7:15.226).

Lineups

Bates WV8 lineup: Kelsey Dion ’12 (Truckee, Calif.) (bow); Allison DiSalvo ’12 (Lowell, Mass.); Mallory Ward ’15 (Pittsford, N.Y.); Hope King ’14 (Greenwich, Conn.); Alexandra Hill ’14 (Wayland, Mass.); Heather Monty ’14 (Bedford, N.H.); Elizabeth Sonshine ’12 (Short Hills, N.J.); Haley Sive ’12 (Glenville, N.Y.) (stroke); Gabriella Bilotta ’14 (Washington, D.C.) (cox).

Bates W2V8 lineup: Jenna Armstrong ’15 (Florham Park, N.J.) (bow); Elizabeth Sangree ’15 (Ashford, Conn.); Lauren Hadiaris ’13 (Cape Elizabeth, Maine); Rachel Ellis ’14 (Snohomish, Wash.); Amy Jacks ’12 (Baltimore, Md.); Sarah Murphy ’14 (Wellesley, Mass.); Eliza Barkan ’15 (Seattle, Wash.); Aisling Ryan ’14 (Millis, Mass.) (stroke); Molly Huffaker ’14 (Ithaca, N.Y.) (cox).

Bates W3V8 lineup: Hadley Dawson ’14 (Wayland, Mass.) (bow); Hannah Weiss ’15 (Marietta, Ga.); Caroline Kern ’15 (Merrimac, Mass.); Taylor Kniffin ’14 (Stamford, Conn.); Caroline Webb ’12 (Tiburon, Calif.); Catherine Tuttle ’13 (Pittsford, N.Y.); Carrie Dillaway ’13 (Woodbridge, Conn.); Rebecca O’Neill ’15 (Westminster, Vt.) (stroke); Emma-Kate Lindsay ’15 (Harrison, N.Y.) (cox).