BOSTON, Mass. -- The opening day of the spring 2023 season saw the CGA Rowing team in Boston to race MIT and West Point. Racing started at 0912 with the first varsity men. The temperature around 40 degrees and a wind out of the east at 9 mph and it just got windier, but at least the rain held off. All three varsity boats did an excellent job getting aligned and powered off the starting line. MIT established a lead about 500 meters into the race with CGA in second and West Point in third. The three boats raced well in the challenging conditions, but the order remained the same to the finish. It was a strong race for the team and a good stepping stone for the season ahead.

Next up was the second varsity eight which included five fourth class and two walk-on novice rowers (Eli Chapman and Maddox Holmes-Selby) racing in their first 2000 meter race. With 4/c Phillip Jones at stroke the boat came off the line strong and they were in a tight race for the first part of the course. MIT pulled away from both West Point and Coast Guard and took control of the race as the boats approached the Mass Ave bride. West Point pulled out to a length lead by the thousand and then CG pushed back to within three seats before stalling and West Point pulled away for second. The young CGA boat showed potential and learned some important lessons.

The final race for the men's was the four with 3/c Palmer Avery at the helm in his first 2k race and four 4/c, including Jayden Lomax, in his third week of rowing. West Point's two fours pulled away quickly. However, CGA and MIT had a dog fight all the way down the course, in some difficult conditions, with CGA prevailing.