The Duxbury rowers performed well at their first regatta of the Fall season, with a number of top-10 finishes in a deep field of teams from around New England.
The DBMS Girls led the way, placing three boats in the top 11 of the Girls Junior Fours event, with the top boat of Amanda Kenney, Kate McNulty, Molly Roche, Caitlin Stehn and coxswain Kate Reynolds finishing in 4th place for DBMS’ top finish of the day.
“It was a great start to the season,” said DBMS Girls Varsity Coach Betsy Davenport. “The girls were happy with their performance and they were glad to test their skills over the longer course. Three of the varsity girls had never rowed a head race before and they did an excellent job pacing themselves over the distance.”
The Girls also had boats finish 9th, 11th and 34th in the event of over 40 teams. In the afternoon, the DBMS Girls combined athletes to race the Girls Junior Eight, finishing 12th out of 36 crews.
The DBMS Boys also showed strongly, capturing 10th, 19th and 33rd places out of 53 entries in the Boys Junior Fours event. The Boys top crew was comprised of Ethan Donnelly, Jonny Campbell, Charlie Rubin, Chris Beckerman and coxswain Sophie McArdle. The Boys also placed 14th out of 27 crews in the Boys Junior Eight, and 20th of 28 teams in the Boys Junior “B” Eight.
“I give the athletes a lot of credit,” said new DBMS Head and Varsity Boys coach Oli Rosenbladt. “They’ve done a lot of work to learn a whole new approach to rowing, but they’ve really responded well. I’m looking forward to a great season.”
The Novice team also represented DBMS well, with the Novice Girls finishing 11th of 24 and the Novice Boys finishing 15th of 21. “I am very please with how well the novice girls rowed,” said Girls Novice Coach Amanda Doolin. “I am looking forward to this coming weekend in Worcester, where I believe they can place even higher up in the field.” Boys Novice coach Chris Lee said “Despite some pre-race jitters, the novices turned in a solid performance rowing with good timing and determination over the course.”
“Overall it was a good glimpse into where we need to improve and where we stand early in the season compared to other crews in the region,” concluded Davenport.