The Columbia men’s and women’s crew teams headed up to Boston Saturday and Sunday for four races stretched over two days of competition at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Held in the river between Boston and Cambridge, the Head of the Charles is the largest two-day regatta in the world and in its 48th consecutive year. The regatta is open to international, club, and college teams, along with high schoolers and master rowers.
At the meet, Columbia athletes took part in the men’s championship eight, men’s lightweight eight, women’s heavyweight eight, and women’s alumnae eight.
The Lions’ first event was women’s alumnae eight, where they took 21st place out of 34 teams. In the race, the participating team of Columbia alumnae finished in 19:25.64.
The women’s and men’s heavyweight teams debuted their season at the meet. The women completed the race in high standing, finishing just outside the top 10. The University of Wisconsin crew nipped the Light Blue by a second, but the latter’s time of 17:15.25 still clocked in at 11th in the field of 40 boats. The Lions’ male counterparts finished 21st out of 28 teams in 15:33.54.
The men’s lightweight eight enjoyed a successful meet last weekend, when they swept the top four spots at the Head of the Passaic Regatta. However, they faced tougher competition in Boston, crossing the finish line in 15:28.22, good for 11th place out of 18 boats.
Next Sunday, all three contingents will travel south to New Jersey for the Princeton Chase.
