Sports
Rowing teams conclude successful fall seasons at the Head of the Schuylkill
By Jane Bary ’19
October 29, 2015
The men’s and women’s rowing teams capped off their fall seasons last weekend with promising performances at the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia.
The men’s four boat came in 9th place out of nearly 50 boats, behind Division I schools like the University of Pennsylvania and the United States Military Academy. The eight boat finished in the middle of the pack, placing 19th out of 30 boats, also behind many Division I boats and ahead of Division III rivals like Union College and SUNY Geneseo.
Hamilton fields a men’s four, eight and a novice eight and on the women two eights and a novice eight. The “varsity four” boats are made up of four rowers and a coxswain, who helps steer the boat. “Eight” boats are made up of eight rowers and a coxswain. Boats with eight rowers can be entered in the varsity division, for more experienced rowers, or the novice division, if the rowers are new to collegiate competition.
Hamilton’s novice boat on the men’s side finished 21st out of 38 boats this weekend.
Though the Continentals have a short fall season, they are already gearing up for the spring, when they will compete in smaller races against local rivals as well as some large regattas with many other schools.
“We have a good chance to win all of our dual races and then I think we need to shoot for our best finish ever at ECACs, which is our last meet of the season,” said captain Parker Lewis ’16, who rows in the varsity four boat, the fall’s top boat.
The ECAC race features a lot of NESCAC rivals as well as large schools such as the University of Michigan, and the best NESCAC finisher at the event is named conference champion. Since men’s rowing is not an NCAA sport on the men’s side, the ECAC meet is the farthest the men can advance each season.
The Hamilton rowers also look forward to dual races against Union and St. Lawrence, both of whom they beat last year.
Though the men’s team returns everyone from last year’s varsity eight boat, some new rowers show promise and will challenge for spots in the top boat in the spring.
The team practices weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings on the Erie Canal in Rome, N.Y., as well as on indoor rowing machines, known as ergs, in the gym. This fall, the Continentals focused on distance in their practices and aimed to row 15 to 20 kilometers on the water each day.
Now, as Hamilton heads into its offseason, team members are committed to working out so they can make a successful run in the spring.
“Everyone on the team is pretty focused on staying in shape and coming into the spring as good as we were this fall,” Lewis said.
The women’s squad is in the midst of a rebuilding year, after graduating a good chunk of the varsity eight boat that made it to nationals last spring placing fourth overall and finished the season ranked third in the country in a poll of college rowing coaches. That was the best finish for the Continentals in almost two decades of being a varsity program.
Hamilton’s top varsity eight boat placed 13th out of 19 boats this weekend at the Head of the Schuylkill, and was the second best Division III boat in the event. The second varsity eight boat finished 20th out of 47 boats.
“We learned something from each race this fall, and the Head of the Schuylkill gave us a chance to see how we stack up,” said captain Heather Piekarz ’16. “We are still very competitive amongst other Division III crews and we have set ourselves up for a successful spring.”
The women’s novice boat finished in the top half of its division, and some of the rowers who made up that boat will look to contribute to the varsity boats in the spring.
“Rowing was always something I wanted to try in high school but I never had time, so I thought I’d try it here,” said Caroline Zuchold ’19, a novice member of the team.
Hamilton fields a young squad in general on the women’s side, with four sophomores and a first year rowing in the top boat.
“The fall season is really about development and beginning to build a base of fitness for the spring racing, so I think what I’m most pleased with is how our athletes have shown improvement in their training and a commitment to getting better, especially given how young many of them are. I also think that our novice squads have shown a lot of promise, which bodes well for the spring and the future,” said coach Robert Weber.
Both squads look forward to the team’s two-week trip to Tennessee over spring break. The Continentals hope to post a strong performance in the ECAC race, which serves as their conference championship later in the spring. The women’s side hosts a national championship, and Hamilton hopes to make it back there for the second time in program history.
“A goal is to replicate what we did last season, to keep up that intensity and have a really solid season,” said Charlotte Andrews ’17, who rowed in the second varsity eight boat last year and moved to the top boat this fall.
Piekarz, a coxswain who made the All-America team in the spring, believes the team can rebound from the loss of some key seniors from last year’s squad.
“We have a large sophomore class, and I’ve been impressed with their ability to step up into larger roles on the team this year. We also have a large class of walk-on rowers who are contributing in big ways.”
Coach Weber is encouraged by the women’s strong performances last spring and thinks that both teams can see success at the state and conference level this year.
“Hamilton rowing can be a perennial contender for a New York State Collegiate championship and one of the top teams in the NESCAC,” Weber said. “The women have proven that’s a realistic goal and continuing to perform at that level is what I would like to see over the long run.”
Both the men’s and women’s rowing teams will next hit the water this spring.