Head of the Charles

10/24/11 – The Michigan Men’s Rowing Team traveled to Boston, Massachusetts last weekend to compete at the Head of the Charles. The regatta is one of the largest and most prestigious in the world and is the premiere race of the fall season.

The Michigan Men competed for the second consecutive year in the Championship Eights event. The race included entries from most of the top collegiate varsity programs, as well as a few international clubs and an entry from USRowing.

After a Saturday morning practice on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, the team spent the rest of the day enjoying the many sights and sounds of the regatta from the banks of the Charles.

Sunday afternoon saw great racing conditions for the Champ Eight event. Michigan started behind Dartmouth College and in front of the University of Pennsylvania. The crew made quick work of a young Dartmouth boat, passing within the first 1500 meters. Due to the tight steering of senior coxswain April Leversee, the remainder of the 3-mile race provided no additional drama. This is not always the case on a challenging course that features many sharp turns and narrow bridges.

As they passed through Eliot Bridge and into the final stretch of the race, Michigan began to close the gap on Georgetown. After an intense and well-executed race, Michigan placed 22nd out of 36 entries, a solid finish given the level of varsity and international competition. The crew finished less than a minute behind the victorious Harvard crew that was the runner-up at the IRA National Championship regatta last June. Additionally, Michigan beat three varsity programs, finishing well ahead of Dartmouth, and just ahead of Georgetown and Pennsylvania.

“The Charles crew had a great race: solid rowing, a hard pull, and no problems around bridges. Yet again, we show we have speed in the middle ofthe varsity program bubble, while under-stroking most of the field. In the end, this was just a fall race, but that only four of our seven returning varsity eight rowers from last year were in the lineup and were still able to generate this speed is a good sign for the depth of Michigan Crew this year.” - Charley Sullivan, Assisstant Head Coach.

Overall, it was a very successful trip to Boston for the Michigan Men. Next week, the full team will travel to Indianapolis for the Head of the Eagle Regatta.