April 16, 2007
Mason rowers experienced both highs and our lows this weekend at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J. Because of inclement weather, the rowers were unable to practice on Friday and the weather forecast was predicting terrible conditions on Sunday, so the schedule was rearranged to get all racing in on Saturday.
The Patriots Lightweight 4 was one of the highlights on Saturday, finishing in 4th place in grand finals in an event that had 14 boats in it. The Second Varsity 8 had the next best finish with a 4th place in petite final. Unfortunately, the Varsity 8, Novice 8, and Novice 4 were unable to advance out of their heats.
The novice four debuted this weekend with promising results. One rower in the boat has only been rowing for three weeks! After a great start and a powerful first thousand they were battling for second place. Their youth and excitement got the better of them, causing two rowers to "catch a crab". They lost control of their oars and the boat was forced to stop and regroup. While the rowers were disappointed with the results, they were thrilled with their first thousand meters. All five are looking forward to a rematch later in the season.
The novice eight continues to learn about racing. "While they were disappointed with their speed, they came out of the weekend with valuable insight on rowing and racing at the Division I level," remarked coach Dillard. They beat Dayton, a crew that had beaten them earlier in the season over spring break. "They set their sights on Delaware and William and Mary, knowing that the lessons they learned this weekend have made them faster for our conference championship," added Dillard.
"I was very disappointed with our Varsity 8," said Dillard. "We simply did not row together and lost our composure. This was definitely our biggest race so far this year and I think they were pressing too much and just lost their composure. We will look to pick ourselves back up this week with a solid week of practice and be ready for CAA Championships on Saturday."
The Second Varsity 8 finished 4th in their heat qualifying them for the petite final. They were able to beat Temple in the afternoon who had beat them early in the morning, but fell to North Carolina, after having a lead at the 1000m mark, but unfortunately North Carolina and Boston College were able to edge us out at the line.
This was the first big test for the Lightweight 4 as they faced 14 boats in their event. They had a great race in the morning finishing second in their heat. "They were very controlled, very confident, and worked well with each other," said Dillard. In the grand finals they finished 4th, not having quite as strong of a race in the morning but a solid race. "They are really rowing well together, and we will look to build their strength and endurance as the season progresses," added Dillard.
Coach Dillard is optimistic for this weekend at the CAA Championships in Philadelphia. "I think we learned a lot this weekend. Unfortunately we had to learn these lessons by losing some races. We will move forward and learn from this and will come back strong.
