Two boats from the crew team raced at the 59th annual Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston last weekend. The event is one of the most prestigious regattas in the United States and hosts over 12,000 rowers each year.
The men’s and women’s varsity 4+ boats competed in the collegiate division on Sunday afternoon. The women’s boat finished second out of 39 teams while the men finished 21st out of 42 on the five-kilometer course.
The women’s boat of senior Ellie Walsh, senior Noni Lorentzen, junior Elle Lansing, junior Lili Gerstenschlager and junior coxswain Annabelle Witkowski raced a time of 19:04.785, just over 30 seconds behind first-place finisher Carleton College.
Walsh noted that the team was aiming for a top-three finish. Walsh and Lorentzen have prior experience winning on the Charles — both were part of the women’s four crew that won in 2022.
Walsh emphasized the importance of having “the best race possible.”
“When you think about it, there’s so many factors determining how well you do — specifically, other boats, things can go wrong,” Walsh said. “It’s a really notorious, difficult course to navigate.”
This is the second semester this crew is racing together, which Walsh added is crucial to racing fast.
“I feel like having time with the same people is so important, just so you can learn their stroke,” Walsh said. “You can have power, all four of you can have power, but if you’re not applying it at the same rate and in the same way, you’re not going to go as fast as you can.”
Walsh also mentioned the importance of Witkowski’s navigation as coxswain to the crew’s success, given the difficulty of the course.
The men’s boat of senior Aaron Sigmond-Warner, sophomore Ryan Delmore, junior Owen Piskorowski, junior Owen Baute and sophomore coxswain Maddie Malone finished at 17:32.975, about a minute and 15 seconds off of the pace of the victor, the University of San Diego.
Malone said the team had to seat race for spots in the men’s boat just about a week and a half before leaving for Boston.
“Most crews have been rowing together for years,” Malone said. “We’ve been working together for 10 days, so then to get on the course and row together was definitely nerve-wracking.”
“I think we all really pulled it together, worked together, put the effort into row as a unit, row as a crew, rather than the row as individuals,” she continued.
Malone added that, while weather conditions were difficult in the team’s practice run on Friday, conditions were benign on Sunday beyond a slight headwind.
Two boats of alumni also competed. The men’s alumni four finished 15th out of 23 boats with a time of 18:37.167, and the women’s alumnae four finished eighth out of 22 boats with a time of 19:57.938.
Walsh noted that more than 50 crew alumni also came to watch, which added to the “crazy” atmosphere of the race.
“The Charles is great because it’s so many people who have this kind of niche interest,” Walsh said.
The crew team will be back on the water on Saturday at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in Philadelphia.
“I would say the difference between the two is the Head of the Charles is a coxswain’s race,” Malone said. “The way you have to steer is a lot, it’s a big part of the race. That’s the difference between first and 15th, even, solely based on the line you take. So I think for a coxswain, Schuylkill is much easier.”
