Crew
Hanover crew opens with wins
Hanover High School’s crew teams got the season off to a strong start Saturday with the girls winning all four races and the boys winning three of four against rowers from Glastonbury, Conn., and Bedford, N.H.
The course was 1,400 meters upstream on the Connecticut River against a swift current and a variable tailwind during the races.
Hanover girls coach Julie Stevenson said the team has experienced rowers, as well as many first timers, whose performance was “miraculous,” given it was their first race, and “they have been on the water for only eight days.”
“What was wonderful was to see the group of experienced girls execute their race plan and not try to over row where they are at this point in the season,” Stevenson said in an email. “They were poised, tough, and kept their cool as they slowly walked through their opponents. This great bunch is led by captains Rachel Kohl and Sara Garr.”
The girls first and second boats beat Bedford by six seconds and nine seconds, respectively, with the third boat winning by 21 seconds and the fourth boat by 53 seconds.
The boys were led by captains Oliver Benedict and Nathanial Eakin-Picconi, with wins by the first, second, and fourth boats and a second-place finish by the third boat.
“The boys had an excellent showing and coach (Fred) Cressman was happy to see the top two boats execute their plan and steadily walk through their opponents,” Stevenson wrote. “We are excited to kick off our season in such a positive way and look forward to working with this great group of rowers.”