The GW crew team hit the road again last weekend and traveled to Boston, Mass. for the Head of the Charles meet, where it earned positive results.
The women’s eight team finished 18th out of 50, despite losing approximately 10 seconds after hitting a “crab,” a rowing term for a swell in the water. This swell lifted Tara Jo DeRosa’s oar out of the water and cost the team a possible top 10 finish, according to Coach Steve Peterson.
Amanda McDougall, a member of the women’s eight boat, said the team hit the swell toward the end of the course, where turns are as sharp as 180 degrees. McDougall said the boat’s riggers got twisted, and the boat had to stop for a time, costing 10 seconds.
“It’s not unusual for stuff like that to happen up there,” McDougall said.
The women’s eight boat still managed to finish ahead of every school in its region, except Princeton. According to McDougall, the race is broken down into regions consisting of 12 to 15 boats.
The men’s eight boat finished 28th out of 44. Peterson said he was pleased with the team’s performance, since the boat consists of mostly sophomores still gaining experience in a “rebuilding” year.
Peterson also said he was pleased with the younger boats. The men’s novice boat finished 10th out of 33 boats. While the women’s lightweight varsity, a team that lost eight rowers to graduation, finished ninth out of 25 boats.
In addition to last weekend’s meet, the crew team also has been busy raising money on campus. Many students may have seen them on the H Street Terrace of the Marvin Center Tuesday, asking for donations while erging, a crew term for working out on rowing machines.
The team was rowing to meet a goal of one million meters, which they accomplished and then some.
“I would really like to thank all of the students who helped us make Tuesday a success,” Peterson said. “We had a really great turnout and wound up with more donations from passersby then we expected. The money will go toward new equipment, such as boats, oars and possibly sending some rowers to a winter training camp in Tampa, Fla.
-Helder Gil contributed to this report
