Boston College Athletics
Boston College Competes in Head of the Charles
October 23, 2007 | Rowing
Oct. 23, 2007
The Boston College women's rowing team began its 2007-2008 season at the 43rd Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass., last weekend.
The historic, two-day event is the world's largest regatta, featuring more than 1,600 boats, 8,200 rowers, and 300,000 spectators. The regatta is an international event, with 18 countries having participated this year.
On Saturday, Boston College raced in the club four and club eight events, which include both varsity intercollegiate programs as well as clubs from around the world.
The Eagles' club eight entry put forth a strong effort, finishing 14th of 52 entries with a time of 18 minutes and 1 second. University of Tennessee placed first with a time of 17:16.
BC's club four entry finished 24th of 32 entries with a time of 21:15. Don Rowing Club took first place, completing the course in 19:10. The Eagles fielded this event with rowers from the Novice team, with two of the four rowers having had only five weeks of experience leading up to the race.
Head coach Steve Fiske was pleased with Saturday's finish in the season opener. "Both boats raced with good consistency and handled the pressure of racing in the Head of the Charles quite well," he said. "The eight dropped a significant amount of time from our previous best on the course this year, so they were happy with the improvement."
On Sunday, the Eagles raced in the championship eight event, which featured national team crews, as well as priority boats from many of the best collegiate programs in the country.
Mid-race, the Eagles ran into some trouble along the course. "Unfortunately we had some bad luck on the race course, getting an oar caught in a buoy line, which forced us to stop, untangle and restart," Coach Fiske explained. "It took us completely out of our rhythm and cost us a significant chunk of time".
The unusual circumstance cost the Eagles greatly, leaving the team with an uncharacteristic finish.
"It was pretty devastating to the seniors in the boat who were really geared up for their final race in the Head of the Charles."
Though disappointed by Sunday's result, Coach Fiske is confident in his team and is excited for Eagles to get back out on the water. "This race was obviously not a good indication of what this team is capable of. I'm looking forward to getting out there again this weekend in Princeton."
Boston College races in the Princeton Chase Regatta on Sunday, Oct. 28, in Princeton, N.J.
