The Head of the Connecticut represented a stiff challenge to the crew team. Not only had they exerted themselves the day before at the Head of the Housatonic, but also now they faced the highest level of competition they had seen thus far in the season. The race always attracts a large number of very strong teams hoping to gear up for the Head of the Charles the following weekend.

Continuing their improvement each week, the novice women put together their best rows of the season. The novice women's first boat that raced this weekend consisted of coxswain- Dorothy Schug, stroke-Jessica Wolinsky, 7-Dana Kirchoff, 6-Courtney McBride, 5-Amanda Bennett, 4-Lisi Krainer, 3- Katie Spencer, 2-Katie Cameron and bow Anne Kurtz. In a large field of 16 boats, the freshmen women placed 8th. Everyone was pleased with this result, as the level of competition was very high with the top spots being taken by traditional rowing powers. After finishing the fall season, freshman Anne Kurtz reflected on her experience: "My favorite race was the Head of the Connecticut. Although the weather was poor it was forgotten once the race started. There was a sense of connection and focus in the boat that had not been as present prior to this race. In addition it was rewarding to know that time and effort that we all put into practice had finally begun to show in a race setting."

After their recent success at the Head of the Housatonic the novice men were pumped up and hoped to prove that they were a rowing power. Unfortunately, there was some confusion at the start and in their attempts to make up lost time, they weren't able to row to their full potential. In the end, they finished 11th out of 14 boats.

In the Men's Intermediate 8 race, the varsity men's performance was affected by uncontrollable circumstances. About halfway through their race, a high school boat launching from the dock strayed onto the race course colliding with Vassar and creating a Daytona 500-style crash. The Men's 8 was forced to stop, narrowly missing this crash, and take a longer route. They ended the race in 12th place out of 15, but with their bad fortune in consideration, they looked to be in good shape for the Head of the Charles the next week. The varsity men also entered a boat in the Championship 4's competition. In a hard fought battle, the men finished 19 out of 26.

On Saturday, October 12, the Crew Team headed to the Head of the Housatonic in Derby, Conn. before traveling to race at the larger and more competitive Head of the Connecticut on Sunday. On the back-to-back racing, Adam Schayowitz commented, "This was a long weekend of rowing, everyone rowed at least 4 times if not more. This was a great test of endurance training and fitness."

The Head of the Housatonic has historically proven to be a difficult head race to win, since it is the Yale's home course. Aside from being one of the oldest collegiate teams in the country, Yale has the advantage of practicing daily on the river. The novice men's boat of Dan Horowitz, Chris Abbott, Andreu Viader Valls, Chris Knorr, Dan Nelson, Ernasto D. Medina Gomez, Brendan Sullivan, Kosta Popovic, and Axtell Arnold rowed well and put together one of their best races of the fall. They ended up finishing 3rd, winning bronze medals and losing to two Yale boats. The "Yale factor" also prevented the varsity men from claiming the Gold as they lost to 2 Yale heavyweight boats, a Yale lightweight boat and a boat consisting of recent Yale alums.

In addition to rowing in the Open 8 race, the varsity men split into fours with Chloe Hensold, Kevin Hall, Thomas Goolsby, Colton Riley in one four and Matt Baum, Josh Huling, Steven Larson, Alex Kaufman, and Chris Martin-McNaughton. The boats finished in 7th and 9th place. After his race, Alex Kaufman commented that, "We were motivated primarily by racing against three varsity Yale boats. We had a good finish, and were able to beat the Yale lightweight four. It was a great course and an exciting venue. There were a lot of good boats on the water, and it definitely made us pull our hardest."
The varsity women faced stiff competition from Division I schools but held their own in beating the "A" boats from NESCAC foes Amherst and Connecticut College. The varsity women also split into two 4's with Chloe Hensold, Liz Lamdin, Kate Wardwell, Shana Weinberg and Liz McPhillips in one 4 and Julia Morgan, Hilary King, Kristin Dillner, Kalin Jaffe and Becky Kessler in the other 4. Commenting on her race, Bow-seat Becky Kessler remarked that, "we raced well together. The start was great and we passed several boats during the race."

Because of the long distance traveled to this race, the novice girls brought only their top boat to the race. The novice women ended up finishing 4th in their race with a time of 18:13.

After a very successful weekend at the Head of the Erie the Hamilton rowers turned their attention to the Head of the Mohawk regatta. The race was held on the Mohawk River in Schenectady and included many of the same colleges that will face Hamilton again in the spring. Eager to give the competition something to worry about this winter, the rowers were out to impress.

Of all the races this year, the Head of the Mohawk may have been one of the most difficult to steer. The course included a sharp 180-degree turn that the coxswain must maneuver through with the shell moving at full racing speed. Adding to the challenge, a strong wind produced high white caps on the river. At this race, the Hamilton coxswains were given an opportunity to showcase their skills.

The highlight of the day was the Men's Varsity 8 race. The Hamilton boat of Matt Baum, Kevin Hall, Steven Larson, Adam Schayowitz, Pete Coxeter, Josh Huling, Thomas Goolsby, Henry Chicaiza, and Colton Riley won the Open Men's Eight race in a time of 17:01. For their efforts, the mayor of Schenectady awarded them the "mayors cup" trophy. 5-seat, Pete Coxeter, remarked afterwards that they had rowed a "great race." Remarking on the difficult turns, Coxeter said, "Despite the amount of steering needed, we were able to row a strong and consistent race, keeping the amount of time it took to row each 500 meters exactly where we wanted it."

In the Open Womens 8, Hamilton's Varsity finished second in a large field of 9 shells in an impressive

well despite ocean-like conditions and never rowing together beforehand," commented bow-seat Becky Kessler.

In the novice races, Hamilton had a difficult time with the unfavorable conditions. In the Novice Women's Eight race, Hamilton entered two boats and finished 6th and 7th out of 10 boats. The Novice Men put in a good effort and finished the race 6th out of 7 boats.

Four weeks of physical and mental training was exhibited this past weekend at the Head of the Erie as Hamilton College's "Blue Crew" burst upon the scene, taking first or second in every event in which they participated and, in the end, breaking Colgate's two-year streak by winning the regatta's Points Trophy.

The weekend began with Club events on Saturday. Hamilton entered in several small boats races taking

on local clubs and individuals. Since only a few clubs attended and USMMA was the only college to show that day, the results of the races in which Hamilton participated were fairly predictable.

The real competition arrived Sunday. On what was a beautiful day with a slight head wind, Hamilton showed its intensity. The first race, the Men's 8+,

was a heated battle as Hamilton, who started a length of open water or so down on Colgate, attempted to shorten the distance, with Colgate striving to hold them off. In the end, only five seconds separated their times, Hamilton slightly behind. The novice men also put on a good show, but were unfortunately bested by USMMA.

In the next event, the Women's 8+, the Hamilton ladies fought hard against the Ithaca women, refusing to give in and earning a solid second place. Hamilton's second women's boat also showed spirit, but were eventually out-powered by both of Colgate's boats in the event. The novice women also did a respectable job, pulverizing the USMMA ladies by over a minute.

The highlight of the day was the Men's 4+ event. After already participating in the tiring eights race, the Hamilton B boat, made up of Kevin Hall, Steven Larson, Josh Huling and Colton Riley, broke open the

competition and walked their way to victory. The Hamilton A boat also did a nice job, beating out USMMA's A boat.

The culmination of Hamilton's efforts was the reward of the Points Trophy, which Colgate had hoped to win for the third time in a row this year. Of some note is that this is the first time that Hamilton has won the

trophy. The entire team, especially the seniors, were pleased with the results of this past weekend and can only assume that Hamilton's win at the Erie bodes well for the rest of the season.