The GW men’s and women’s varsity crew teams traveled to Boston last weekend to compete in the annual Head of the Charles regatta.

The GW men’s eight placed 36th out of 55 boats with a time of 16:19.86. This time was a big improvement over last year’s time of 16:31.74. The race was won by the United States National team with a time of 14:26.18. The German National team finished second and Northeastern University placed third.

This race allows college crews to compete against the best in the world, women’s coach Steve Peterson said. College crews from all over the country and often times the U.S. National team, along with the national team crews from other countries such as Germany, Great Britain and Holland, travel to Boston to compete.

The U.S. National team also won the men’s four event with a time of 16:37.67. The British National team and the University of Wisconsin finished second and third, respectively. GW ended the race in 25th place with a time of 20:55.65.

On the women’s side, only the GW women’s eight made the trip to Boston, and GW finished 43rd out of 59 boats. GW’s time of 18:28.34 was just under two minutes behind winner Princeton University (16:37.52). The Dutch National team finished second and the German team came in third.

As for the performance of my crew, I was a little disappointed, Peterson said. I know, and I think the crew knows we are much faster than we showed (last) weekend.

Both the men’s and women’s crew teams look to build from their performances at the Head of the Charles this weekend as they compete in the Princeton Chase in Princeton, N.J.