Boys’ Crew Washes Hanover
Like a knife slices through a watermelon, the Big Red crew boats were slicing through the water on their way to a sweeping varsity and JV victory against Hanover High School last Saturday. Exeter sent six boats up to Hanover, New Hampshire to compete in the annual regatta which brings friendly, but serious competition every year.
The wide, open Hanover river was unfamiliar terrain for the Exeter rowers, given that they train on the windy and compact Squamscott River at home. Nonetheless, Hannover’s choppy waters and fierce headwinds proved not to be a problem for the versatile Big Red athletes.
The day’s highlight came from the Boat 3 race when Exeter’s B3 beat Hanover by 28 seconds, an astonishing margin given that the race was 5 minutes long. Lower Hassane Fitini, a rower on B3 attributed their victory to the boat’s “tough core workouts, erg tests and many long hours on the Squamscott River working on technique and building speed.”
Because of the tides, the team did a lot of fitness work this week to bounce back from a tough defeat against Kent School two Saturdays ago. “Every boat was working hard this week to reclaim our pride,” lower and coxswain Nathan Lee said.
Head Coach Albert Leger ends every meal with three words: “Impprove every day.” These words were especially motivational for the team this week and resulted in a great rebound against a strong opponent.
The team’s commitment to winning and improvement can be traced back to their dynamic during practices. Lower Cooper Walshe said, “It can get a little bit competitive at times when rowers are battling for a seat on high ranking boats; however, outside the boathouse, we all eat at dining hall together or play basketball on the court outside of Cilley together.”
Last season, the tight knit group of boys took home the first place trophy at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships (NEIRAs). Big Red isn’t in the mood to share it with anyone else, so, since the wakeup call from Kent, the team has been preparing for the competition by spending long hours on the water and pulling harder on the erg all to shave off milliseconds of time at their upcoming race. Hopefully, this will allow them to keep their 1st place trophy in Exeter.
The team is heading to Andover this Saturday to race against the blue rivals and the St. Paul’s School. Last season, Exeter brought home the trophy from this competitive regatta and the team is looking to bring the Big Red heat to Lawrence, Massachusetts to stick it to Andover on their home course.