Shelton, CT – This Sunday, Men's Crew traveled south to Connecticut to compete at the Head of the Housatonic for their first race of the fall season. The regatta featured near perfect conditions with glassy water and a mild temperature, and the Ephs saw success across all boats.
The Williams first and second eights started off the day for the program by racing in the HVA Cup (IRA) event, which featured 20 crews in total, most of which were from strong Division I competition. Both crews had very solid performances, with the first boat finishing 9th (going 13:02.2) and the second boat placing 15th with a time of 13:25.6. Yale's first boat won the event with a team of 12:29.1.
First eight bow seat
Kyle McHugh '28 was happy with how the Housatonic went, saying: "It was a really fun first race and a great introduction to the professionalism of collegiate competition. I'm looking forward to shipping up to Boston and putting our best foot forward there in the Charles next week." Second eight two seat
Chris Pohlmann '27 had similar feelings, commenting: "We had a great day of rowing today. The course was beautiful, and we set a good baseline for the future races. I'm proud of these guys and excited to see how we can grow before Head of the Charles."
Next up for the Ephs was the third eight's race in the Director's Cup, where they finished 14th out of 17 crews, going 15:01.6. Coast Guard won the event with a time of 13:34.0. This event was special for Williams, as it marked the first rowing race ever for several team members. Two seat
Kyle Gwilt '25 was pleased with his crew, saying: "Our boat came into today with lots of excitement and the race lived up to our expectations. It was a better feeling race than anyone could have predicted, and our novices killed it!"
Closing out the day for Williams were the first and second fours in the Open Four event, which had 22 crews. Both boats had strong races, with the Ephs finishing 7th in the first four and 10th in the second four, going 15:17.7 and 15:30.2, respectively. Yale won the event with a time of 14:15.5.
First four bow seat
Hallsey Souder '28 was happy with the aggression his boat brought, commenting: "Our crew decided from the start that we wanted a dog fight, so we kept climbing past the boats ahead of us and never backed down." Second four two seat
Brij Howard-Sarin '26 was also pleased with his crew, saying: "It was a great effort from everyone! Emma did an incredible job for a novice coxswain - steering a near-perfect line and asserting herself from the start. In the stroke seat, James led a great race, controlling the rate and executing the final sprint well. We all trusted each other throughout and it led to some great rowing."
Head coach
Marc Mandel reflected on the day, saying: "Today was the first time in my eight-year tenure that Williams has raced at the Head of the Housatonic. Our hopes going into the race were to test ourselves against the very top end of Division 1 Men's Rowing, to get a full race rehearsal headed into the Head of the Charles, and to simply allow all of our athletes the chance to race on a fun and flat course. By all accounts it was a great day, with each boat racing well while also identifying areas for improvement . Our twelve first-year athletes raced in Williams colors for the first time, with five pure novices participating in their first-ever rowing race. Finally - I'd like to thank the regatta organizers, who put on a top-notch, extremely well-run event."
Williams races next Sunday at the Head of the Charles Regatta. If you're near Boston, come cheer the Ephs on! There is also a livestream available on YouTube.
Lineups (In order of race time):
First Eight
C:
Christina Zhang '27
S:
Noah Phipps '25
7:
Michael LesStrang '26
6:
Owen Maier '25
5:
Justin Schoenfarber '28
4:
Jack Wagner '27
3:
Dalton Peters '26
2:
Quinn Carroll '27
1:
Kyle McHugh '28
Second Eight
C:
Kipp Kaplan '28
S:
Myer Liebman '26
7:
Ben Floyd '25
6:
Austin Connelly '25
5:
Aidan Spellacy-Urken '28
4:
Jack Archer '28
3:
Luke Guleserian '28
2:
Chris Pohlmann '27
1:
Trent Boone '25
Third Eight
C:
Georgia Badenhope '28
S:
Blaz Vavpetic '27
7:
Zach Cantrell '27
6:
Henry Hilton '28
5:
Neel Verma '27
4:
Alex Farman-Farmaian '28
3:
Andrew Kurgan '28
2:
Kyle Gwilt '25
1:
Brij Howard-Sarin '26
First Four
S:
Pablo Fox '25
3:
Alden Knox Weaver '27
2:
Nyamekye Akosah '25
1:
Hallsey Souder '28
C:
Ellia Chiang '25
Second Four
S:
James Johnson-Brown '25
3:
Ford Koles '25
2:
Brij Howard-Sarin '26
1:
Blaz Vavpetic '27
C:
Emma Cilke '28
