{"id":100887,"date":"2016-04-21T18:22:45","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T22:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=100887"},"modified":"2016-04-22T12:48:31","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T16:48:31","slug":"boathouse-groundbreaking-culminates-bates-rowings-winning-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2016\/04\/21\/boathouse-groundbreaking-culminates-bates-rowings-winning-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Boathouse groundbreaking culminates Bates rowing’s winning day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After winning the April 17 President’s Cup, their signature home regatta, the Bates rowers joined a groundbreaking ceremony for their new boathouse on the Androscoggin River. (Photograph by Connor Cahill ’17)<\/p><\/div>\n

On and off the water, Bates rowing had a winning day on April 17.<\/p>\n

After sweeping all races vs. Bowdoin and Colby in the President\u2019s Cup, their signature home regatta, the men and women of Bates rowing joined families, alumni, friends, and college leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony for the program’s new boathouse on the Androscoggin River in Greene.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a great way to spend a gorgeous Sunday,\u201d said President Clayton Spencer in her welcoming remarks, \u201cby watching our extraordinary athletes and celebrating the start of construction on a new home base.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donor-funded construction \u201cis no small thing,\u201d Spencer told the gathering. “It matters hugely.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Announced by the college in fall 2014<\/a>, the boathouse project will be 100 percent funded by contributions from Bates alumni and parents. Construction, which got going the day after Sunday\u2019s regatta, is scheduled to be finished by the fall.<\/p>\n

A donor-funded facilities project \u201cis no small thing,\u201d Spencer told the gathering.<\/p>\n\t\n\t

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Co-captains Naso, Conover, Taylor, and Wettstein join Steenstra for a turn at the shovels.\n (Photograph by Rene Roy)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t

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The large crowd cheers the proceedings during the groundbreaking ceremony for the rowing program's new boathouse at its training facility on the Androscoggin River in Greene. (Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t

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Co-captains Emma Conover '16 of Camden, Maine, Jamie Naso '16 of Greenbrae, Calif., Marit Wettstein '16 of Rochester, Minn., and Emma Taylor '16 of Scituate, Mass., pose for photos with President Spencer and head coach Peter Steenstra. (Phyllis Graber Jensen)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t

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Teammates give coxswain Kate Traquina '17 of Wayland, Mass., her celebratory dip into the Androscoggin River after the regatta. (Photograph by Connor Cahill '17) <\/p><\/div>\n\t\t

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Bates swept all 10 races vs. Bowdoin and Colby in the President's Cup, the program's signature home regatta. Photograph by Connor Cahill '17) <\/p><\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cIt matters hugely to Bates to have alumni, parents, and friends willing to support a need like this in full,\u201d she added. \u201cIt matters hugely to Bates that we can support our students in so robust and meaningful a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the Sunday\u2019s events, head coach Peter Steenstra says that “Sunday was a fantastic day. Rowing is off the beaten path, literally, and so it meant a lot to the rowers that so many people turned out for the regatta and the ceremony.”<\/p>\n

He explains how he sees the new boathouse \u2014 which replaces a rustic, pole-framed barn \u2014 fitting into a program that has surged to national prominence in recent years.<\/p>\n

The Bates women won the 2015 NCAA championship and the men took their first NESCAC title. On Sunday, Bates won all 10 President\u2019s Cup races.<\/p>\n

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Bates took on Colby and Bowdoin in the President’s Cup Regatta, and it was a feast on and off the river.<\/em><\/p>\n