BOSTON, Mass. --
This weekend the Bears traveled to Boston, MA for the Head of the Charles Regatta. Friday was marked by course recon and race prep as the Bears dialed in for their events.
The racing for Coast Guard on Saturday with an alumni eight made up of a core of rowers from the class of 1976. They had trained on their own for months and came together at CGA this past week to prepare. It had been 50 years since the won the Head of the Charles and they took advantage of an opportunity to race the course in a shell named for their legendary coach, Bill Stowe. Matt William's noted, "competing {again, 50 years later} in the Head of the Charles have made for one of my most memorable and pleasant experiences."
It proved to be a great day for racing and by the time the men's second varsity eight was ready to for the Men's Club 8+ event there were clear skies, low winds, and a high of 70 degrees. Our boat got off to a bit of a shaky start, but settled in and had a strong race holding a great line through the Weeks bridge while in traffic and then holding off a strong challenge all the way through the Eliot Bridge. The Bears finished 23rd out 36 in an event where 7 of the top 10 finishers were D1 programs.
Sunday mirrored Saturday's gorgeous weather, with slightly more wind out of the west giving a headwind for the majority of the course. The varsity eight raced in the Men's Collegiate 8+ in the afternoon, finishing 21st out of 42 and earning an automatic entry into the event for 2025. 1/c
Nate Pokress said of the race: "It was a good race, we did exactly what we said we would. Our start was excellent, we got through two boats with some classic Charles chaos, and we were able to get clear and take all the turns by ourselves. [I'm] super happy with how hard we pushed ourselves, and I think Alana {3/c
Alana Gonzalez} did an excellent job steering and executing our race." The start was truly excellent as they were in seventh place at the first time check ahead of both the winner and runner-up of last year's national championships and second among D3 crews. The "chaos" by the Western Avenue Bridge slowed them a bit as they battled for their right of way and for clear water.
The Bears will be back in action next Saturday on Lake Quinsigamond for the Wormtown Chase, their 3rd and final race of the fall season.
