Men's crew breaks record at Charles race
Andrew Braca
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Sports
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"I think it was a really big day for us," said co-captain Paul Strombom '08. "We had some really close races in the (junior varsity) and freshmen, which was really good for them, and it was good that we all came out on top in the three races. I think we made a pretty strong statement in the varsity, too, with the six-second win over Northeastern."
Brown's strongest performance came from the varsity eight, who pulled away from a strong Northeastern boat.
"Both crews were pretty fast off the start. I think we had maybe a seat or two after the first 20 strokes," said Strombom, who was at bow. "And then we kind of just slowly opened it up through the first 1,000 meters."
The front of the Northeastern boat was right behind the back of Bruno's, giving the Bears about a length-long lead going through the first half of the race, Strombom said. Then, a surge through the second half of the race gave Brown another length of open water for their final lead.
"It was a pretty steady clip throughout the race, and they definitely put up a tough fight through the first 1,000, so it was a good race for us," Strombom said.
The Bears crossed the finish line at 5:42.0, 6.9 seconds ahead of the Huskies and 2.1 seconds ahead of history. They broke the Dreissigacker Cup record for the Charles, set by Northeastern in 1988. Northeastern still holds the Cup's fastest time on the Seekonk River, Brown's home course, 5:27.8, set in 2005.
"We had a bit of tailwind," said Rob O'Leary '09, the coxswain. "It was definitely fast conditions, so I think that contributed to" the record.
But that push didn't diminish the Bears' pride in their accomplishment.
"It's a cool feeling to set the record for the race," said co-captain Colin Keogh '08, who was in seat seven.
The other two races were considerably tighter. The second varsity finished in 5:50.7, 2.2 seconds ahead of Northeastern.
"It was a great race," said Ryan McShane '08, who was in seat three. "It was a really great learning experience for the guys, because we were down significantly 600 (meters) in, and we really had to (recover) a little bit. ... We really kept our cool the whole way down, and the last 500 we were able to pull it out. It was definitely a very hard-fought race. It creates a lot of unity within the boat and creates a sense of trust."