Girls’ Crew Hopeful for Upcoming Season
After a very strong season last spring, another season has started for Big Red’s girls’ varsity crew. Although the river is not clear for competition yet, the athletes have been training vigorously to have yet another successful season.
Upper Olivia Reed said, “We are still not on the water yet because the river is frozen which is really difficult. We have done a lot of erging these past two weeks along with some yoga.”
“The team has had a great dynamic in these first few weeks. I'm so glad that this is the case since it's a fairly new group of people, but I’m confident it will end up in a very close group of girls.”
The team starts the season away at an Andover Invitational. The girls’ first boat won this regatta last year, and that boat featured multiple returning athletes—seniors Zoë Sudduth and Jeanne Olivier and uppers Amelia Stucke and Lily Sexton. With that being said, key contributors that helped bring Exeter yet another New England Championship retired last spring. Sudduth, one of this year’s captains, stated, “We lost five rowers off of first boat and our coxswain, Jessica Michaels, who had the first boat for the past three years. But Ashley Baxter, who coxed our Head of the Charles for this fall, will be a great new addition to the boat, and I’m so glad she is an upper because she will be able to stay with the team through next year.”
Upper Hailey Hudson, a returning varsity rower, believes that younger rowers and experienced seniors are “stepping it up” as the team looks to have another successful season despite the talented rowers they lost this past year. Sudduth had similar thoughts as she went on to say, “The team has had a great dynamic in these first few weeks. I'm so glad that this is the case since it's a fairly new group of people, but I’m confident it will end up in a very close group of girls.”
Unfortunately, the brutal winter left the crew teams unable to work on the boats. Hudson said, “Right now, our biggest challenge is our river. It is still icy, and the docks are supposed to be put in on the 15th, only three days before our first race. Practicing out on the water in the boats is critical in order to be prepared for the race, so we hope to get out on the water as soon as possible!”
Reed is still optomistic about Big Red’s chances despite the late start on the water. “Once we do officially get on the water, I know we will have the strength to row fast. We will just have to learn to row together. We will have to be very focused and make the most of our time on the water since it will be less than other teams.” If this talented and hard-working team can remain efficient with the small amount of time given on the water, the team will be a force to reckoned with.
Hudson says that “the team chemistry is like no other.” Likewise, Reed said, “The energy is always high in the boathouse, and we cheer each other on while we erg and do circuits.” This atmosphere will certainly be beneficial in creating a successful team. With great leadership from captains Sudduth and Olivier as well as the returning varsity rowers, this crew team has a lot of potential of putting another championship in the books.