Williams Crew, Charles River All Star Has-Beens Race
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After participating in the annual Ergathon, sophomores Emma Pelegri-O’Day and Kate Shaper, senior Emily Rockett and freshman Annie Haley drove to Boston to race rowers from around the world. Each rower at C.R.A.S.H.-B.’s pulls a 2k piece on the ergometer, the same distance that the Williams women’s crew will be racing on the water this spring.
Despite racing directly after Ergathon, the women performed very well. Rockett posted the fastest Williams time of the day at 7:24.5, with Shaper hot on her heels at 7:28.3. Pelegri-O’Day pulled a 7:37.1, with Haley setting a time of 7:43.3.
Shaper was enthusiastic about her return to the 2k distance. "2k season started on Monday! Being able to actually pull a 2k the day before my season started got me really excited for racing short distances. C.R.A.S.H.-B.'s sort of shocked me into that new, higher level of exertion over a shorter time," she said.
Both Rockett and Haley posted new personal record times.
Though the rowers are all a part of the Williams crew, they were unable to row as such, due to NCAA rules. Instead, Pelegri-O’Day and Haley rowed for the "Myrtle Beach Boat Club," in homage to the spring break training location, while Shaper and Rockett rowed unaffiliated.
According to Rockett, rowing in a non-Williams environment was different than rowing in a Williams context, but also worthwhile: "Racing in a Williams context, you're constantly trying to prove yourself and maintain the best standing on the team you possibly can. It was neat to race in C.R.A.S.H.-B.’s because I had no idea where I stood, and it was really cool to see my hard work over the winter pay off outside the purple bubble."
Shaper retained her Williams mindset even without her uni.
"We might not have been racing in our Williams crew gear, but we were there as
Williams students and teammates just the same," she said.
C.R.A.S.H.-B.’s were a great way to kick-start the spring season, and just one more chance to race. Shaper, a recruited rower, who captained the St. Paul’s School team in high school, commented, "It's funny to me that I can still count the number of 2k erg tests that I have done despite all of my years of rowing. To me it was just an opportunity to see a lot of great racing from people of all ages and to put forward my best effort under the given circumstances."
The whole team was energized by Ergathon, and the rowers who attended C.R.A.S.H.-B.’s enthusiastically returned to Williams to begin officially training again. C.R.A.S.H.-B.’s were a good precursor to the annual Mad Cow Sprints, to be held on Saturday, March 13, in which the crew will pull two 2K pieces on the erg.
The Williams women’s spring season started on Monday, Feb. 15, with the return of coaches Justin Moore and Brad Hemmerly. The team has just over a month until departing for Myrtle Beach, S.C. for its annual training trip on March 19.
