Bates Rowing prepares to supersede success of 2018

Anyone familiar with the second floor of Merril at 4 p.m. on weekdays and the prevailing smell wafting from the erg room will know just how hard the Men’s and Women’s Rowing teams have been preparing for this upcoming season.

The Women’s Rowing team enters the spring season on the throne after two consecutive national championship titles and a stand-out fall season when the team won the prestegious Head of the Charles for the second year in a row.

With five of the first varsity-eight and six of the second varsity eight returning this season, all things point toward another extraordinarily sucessful season for Women’s Rowing.

On the men’s side, the team similarly looks promising. Coming off of their strongest year in program history and a solid third place finish last fall at the Head of Charles, Bates brings back three of their first varsity eight and seven of the second varsity eight from the 2017-18 season.

“Last season was probably the the team’s best season ever,” said team captain Sophia Rintell ‘19. “This year, starting in the fall, we have put a lot of thought into our goals as a team on and off the water. I think we are both taking last year’s momentum and running with it, as well as finding new motivations specific to this year’s team.”

However, while it may be easy to get caught up with the programs’ past successes and expect great things simply by virtue, nothing could be further from the truth for Bates Rowing. These teams win not because they have in the past, but because they know how to work hard and long to prepare and keep the momentum moving forward.

“There’s a fine balance between acknowledging the team’s unparalleled success in 2017-18 and wanting to uphold that legacy and acknowledging that this is a new year with a new team, who just needs to be gritty and put in the work,” team captain Claudia Glickman ‘19 stated.

The Men’s Rowing team holds similar aspirations: “Our immediate goals for the seasons are to build upon the strong training we’ve done over the winter while we wait for the Androscoggin to unfreeze,” team captain Trevor Fry ‘19 said. “Our long term goals however are to requalify for the prestigious IRA regatta and to again claim the NESCAC title.”

As captains of one the the larges teams at Bates, these athlete have more than just their own personal success riding on their sholders. Nonetheless, it’s a role they accept enthusiastically.

“We have an exceptionally large class this year,” Fry said. “They’re showing incredible promise, and one of my goals as a captain this season is to make sure they have all the tools necessary to lead Bates Rowing to many more years of success.”

“The women and men of Bates Rowing who came before us each helped to shape the team into the incredible force and family that it is today,” Glickman said. “My greatest hope is that I am inspiring the same love and relentless dedication to Bates Rowing that my past teammates instilled in me.”

With two seasons of training behind them, the Bobcats are off to a strong start.

“We are now one week into the season with a countdown on our whiteboard until our first race,” Glickman said. “I think every member of the team feels a really palpable sense of eagerness and excitement to get back on the water and push against some tough competition.”