Rowing Association 2024 Spring Highlights

Saturday April 27th, the Amherst Men’s and Women’s teams traveled to Worcester to race on the same course that will be filled with boats for NERC’s in just seven short days. Sandwiched between two other regattas happening on Lake Quinsigamond on this beautiful sunny day, Amherst arrived ready to test their boats against Assumption, Connecticut College, and Middlebury College.

For the Men’s Varsity team, this was the first time during the season that they had raced two fours. The 1V was neck-and-neck for 2nd place with Middlebury’s 2V, but was narrowly beat and finished 3rd. Our 2V, after a bit of a rocky start, recovered quickly and performed admirably, especially considering that many of the rowers had only been in a boat for a few months.

The Amherst Women’s team rowed a combination of boats, with the varsity and novices both rowing an 8V and the varsity team also submitting a 4V. The women’s 8V quickly pulled ahead of Connecticut College and set to work holding off Middlebury. Amherst rowed strongly, but an unfortunate steering complication cost them precious time, which Middlebury used to pull ahead and cinch the win by a mere three seconds. The 2nd 8V competed against three of Connecticut College’s boats, and with incredible strength and perseverance and beat two of them for 2nd place. The varsity 4V had a tough race against Middlebury, but they kept on the rate and pressure and powered through to the finish line.

When asked how she felt about the regatta, Anna Penner ‘24 responded that “I did cry a little bit at the end knowing that it was the last time I got to race with some of the other seniors but I’m also so excited for next weekend!”

Thank you to Assumption for such a wonderful opportunity to row, and thank you to all of the friends and family that came out to support!

For the second regatta of the 2024 Spring season, the team traveled to the Merrimack River to test their metal against Merrimack College, Wentworth, Gordon College, and UMass Lowell. Following a 5:00 AM departure time, the merry band of mammoths arrived at the regatta to the tune of torrential downpours and a strong tail current. Despite the weather, Amherst was prepared to demonstrate what months of training on the Connecticut amounts to.

Starting strong, the Women’s 2V and Women’s 3V boats claimed 1st and 3rd respectively in the JV 4+ race. Facing off against Merrimack College and Gordon College (who rowed a double), the two Amherst boats kept up the pressure and the rate all the way through the finish line. The Women’s 1V kept the winning streak going with a decisive victory over Merrimack, Gordon, and UMass Lowell in the Varsity Four race.

The Men’s 1V had a strong race, holding off Merrimack, Wentworth, and UMass Lowell for the entirety of the 2000 meter race. Gordon claimed the win with a strong double, but Amherst shone through with the silver! A huge shoutout to our Novice rowers, who demonstrated fantastic skill and determination in their Novice 4+ race. In a tough spring to the finish, they beat out Wentworth, losing only to Merrimack for a 2nd place victory!

Thank you so much to Merrimack for inviting Amherst to participate in this regatta, and thank you to all of our friends and family who came to support our fantastic rowers and coxswains.