Crew Teams Excel at Head of the Charles

Last Sunday, rowers and coxswains from Exeter’s crew team competed in the 54th Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With over 1,900 different crew boats from top interscholastic summer and year-round high school and college level programs competing in the race. The HOCR lasts two days and is one of the largest and most competitive regattas in the world.

Slick rowing shells sliced through buffering 36-mph winds and a five-kilometer course on the rough Charles River waters. Several thousand parents, friends, alumni, coaches and spectators from all around the world cheered from the riverbanks and boathouses.

This year, Exeter sent four boats total: a women’s eight, a women’s four, a men’s eight and a men’s four, which placed 38th out of 85, 30th out of 84, 66th out of 85 and 25th out of 85, respectively.

Many of the girls were proud of their improved placement from last year. “I’m pretty happy with our performance,” upper Shelagh Coombs said. Coombs, who rowed in the women’s eight, commended her team’s performance despite less-than-ideal weather conditions

Girls’ head coach Sally Morris commended the girls’ crew teams—especially the coxswains—for their teamwork and resilience on a new and challenging course. “I was especially thrilled by the accomplishments of our girls’ two coxswains, [uppers] Katya Davis and Kelly Mi, neither of whom had raced on the Charles before,” Morris said. “The Charles River is especially twisty and windy with bridges, buoy markers, docks, passing boats and, on Sunday, extremely high winds and gusts up to 36 mph. They steered excellent courses and inspired their rowers.”

Morris also praised both girls’ boats for prequalifying for next year’s HOCR. “The girls’ crews stayed quite close to their results last year and have a spot for the Regatta next year.”

In the HOCR, if a boat finishes 43rd or higher, the top fifty percent, the boat prequalifies to race the next year. Exeter’s women’s eight, women’s four, and men’s four all placed high enough to prequalify for next year. Though the Exeter men’s eight did not place high enough, they won the lottery that determines which rowing institutions can fill the remaining 42 spots and participate in next year’s race.

Despite the Exeter crew team’s high spirits and determination to show off weeks of hard work, the athletes and spectators noted that the weather conditions were not ideal for the race. “It was a little cold and windy,” said William Weil P’19, ’20, ’22, who came to watch his son, senior Stearns Weil, row in the men’s eight from Exeter.

Senior Adar Tulloch, who will serve as a co-captain of men’s crew this spring, called the conditions “quite unfavorable.” The headwind resulted in choppy and turbulent water for the first 1,000 kilometers of the men’s race. “It felt like we were tossed around by the wind by the start,” he said.

Coombs agreed with Tulloch, noting how the crew teams had not practiced in such weather conditions throughout the season. “During the race, it was colder than we what we normally race or even practice in,” Coombs said. “There was also a large head and side wind during our race, which made the boat less stable and slowed our momentum.”

In light of these complications, boys’ head coach Joseph Leger praised both the boys’ and girls’ crew teams’ performances at the regatta. “[Rowing] is the ultimate team sport,” Leger said. “[HOCR is] the biggest rowing race in the world, and it’s only an hour away from Exeter. It’s wonderful that we are here. The HOCR is a great celebration of the sport.”

Morris agreed with Leger, acknowledging how the HOCR was an invaluable learning experience for all of the crew teams, many of which had younger rowers that will compete in next year’s HOCR. “The crews get to see some of the best rowers in the world,” Morris said.

According to Morris, the U.S. Olympic and National Teams and several crew boats from the top university teams across the world competed at the HOCR as well. “Seeing these great rowers mix with athletes who share the joy of the sport and witnessing firsthand the lifelong, inclusive nature of rowing allows our rowers to feel a part of a truly global athletic community.”

Since the beginning of fall term, both crew teams have been practicing four to five days a week from 4:15 to 6:00 p.m. and rowing on the water whenever possible. “Due to the tidal nature of our river, we were only able to row on the water together for about 16 days,” Morris said.

Even when the crew team was not rowing on the water, they practiced long-distance rowing indoors. “When we could not go out on the water, we would use the ergs or indoor rowing machines,” Tulloch said. “We would frequently do intense training pieces on these machines, like a five kilometer piece to simulate the race itself.”

On the other hand, the coxswains, including lower Alex Ranganathan who coxed the men’s four, helped the rowers with their form and worked on their steering each practice. “As a coxswain, I had to study Charles River a lot before the regatta,” Ranganathan said.

With Family Weekend happening at the same time as the HOCR, the crew teams also had more parents, friends and faculty cheering them on. Morris felt especially grateful for Principal Rawson’s support during the entire Sunday of the HOCR.

“We want to give a heartfelt thank you to Principal Rawson for meeting us at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning to head down to Boston in the [Red] Dragons to spend the day with the rowers, helping wherever needed and cheering them on,” Morris said. “It was great to hear his positive feedback to the athletes as he watched them prepare their boats and themselves for the racing, loading and unloading the trailer and celebrating the day with their teammates and fans.”

Many of the rowers, like Tulloch, appreciated the sense of connection and positivity among rowers at HOCR. “I enjoyed the atmosphere [and] the multitude of crews gathering in celebration of a sport we all love,” Tulloch said. “It was also nice to catch up with former Exonians who now row in college.”

Overall, given the amount of preparation and experience of the young crew this year, both the rowers and coaches were satisfied with their results and experience at the HOCR and were thankful for everyone’s support. “I could not be happier with the effort that my fellow oarsmen put in to the race,” Tulloch said.