Bromfield Acton-Boxborough rowers dipped their blue-and-white oars into New York’s Saratoga Lake at the three-day Saratoga Invitational April 27–29. They battled heavy rain, brisk crosswinds, and tail currents along with the Northeast’s top club teams. For a public high school program, “Saratoga is always a David and Goliath story for us,” said program director and head varsity girls Coach Holly Hatton. Harvard’s Anna Shlimak landed the first blow with a bronze in her single on Friday. In Sunday’s B finals, the boys 8 took first place, and the girls 4 and 8 each came in second.
The course, 10 lanes wide, runs 1,500 meters, a sprint compared to the fall season’s long hauls; October’s Head of the Charles Regatta, for example, is three times longer. Crews came from as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio. The sun shone on Saturday’s events. Sunday brought cold wind, rain, and some cancellations. Spectators lined the muddy shore and the bridge spanning the lake to cheer on their teams.
Saratoga race organizers seed top teams in the coveted near lanes; BA-B, which is not nationally ranked, ended up in the far lanes where they faced more wind resistance. Hatton inspired the girls with a quote from Michelle Obama: “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.” Each crew focused on what they could improve upon, Hatton said. “They came off the water pointing to elements of their race plan that they had executed better.”
The boys crews pulled ahead in some close finishes; almost every boat finished ahead of local rivals Arlington-Belmont and Wayland-Weston. “Everyone brought their best this weekend, and, even in the uncomfortable weather, it was great fun to see them operate so well as a team,” said head boys varsity Coach Brian DeDominici.
BA-B has no races scheduled for the upcoming weekend. On May 12 and 13 they’ll ply the Merrimack River at the Amber Zapatka Memorial Regatta in Lowell.
Varsity Boys Results
First varsity 8: Kevin Yu, Dwight Fairchild, Connor O’Shea, Alexander Ewing, Brian Fay, William Thompson, Jack Walsh, Kyle Veo, and coxswain Amy Zhu, B Final, 1st (5:05)- Second varsity 8: Cameron McGurk, Charlie Carbonell, Christopher Clark, Sam Jackson, Spencer Tingle, Nikhil Kommineni, Stefan Scornavacca, Patrick Stoffel, and coxswain Sarah Burke, A Final, 8th (5:33)
Third varsity 8: Jack Kelly, Isaiah Osborn, Maxfield Mascarin, Will Bardenheuer, John Hart, Jonathan McWhite, Ryan Camposano, Max Ewing, and coxswain Amy Zhu, A Final, 8th (6:16)- First varsity 4: Dwight Fairchild, Brian Fay, William Thompson, Jack Walsh, and coxswain Amy Zhu, A Final, 10th (6.12)
Second varsity 4: Spencer Tingle, Alexander Ewing, Connor O’Shea, Kyle Veo, and coxswain Sarah Burke, A Final, 7th (6:16)
Third varsity 4: Maxfield Mascarin, Will Bardenheuer, Ryan Camposano, Max Ewing, and coxswain Jack Kelley, A Final, 6th (7:09)
Lightweight 4: Christopher Clark, Nikhil Kommineni, Kevin Yu, Patrick Stoffel, and coxswain Amy Zhu, B Final, 5th (6:13)
First varsity pairs: William Thompson, Jack Walsh, A Final, 7th (5:33.); Spencer Tingle, Alexander Ewing, B Final, 9th (6:00)
Lightweight double: Christopher Clark, Kevin Yu, B Final, 7th (5:59)
Varsity Girls Results
First varsity 8: Kaylee Liu, Anya Buchovecky, Valentine Bulpin, Summer Maxwell, Grace White, Erin Smith, Anna Shlimak, Kat Fay, and coxswain Rachel Shrives, A Final, 10th (6:20)
Second varsity 8: Sophia Defoe, Fiona Carrez, Ella Bull, Katherine Worden, Molly O’Neill, Sophie Bodager, Alissa Kong, Zoe Flanzer, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu, B Final, 2nd (6:30)
Third varsity 8: Audrey Maxwell, Jackie Sater, Taylor Tracey, Emma Perkins, Polina Bolberova, Alice Pope, Stephanie Gardner, Emily Szelest, and coxswain Chloe Kranz, A Final, 9th (7:16)- First varsity 4: Kat Fay, Anna Shlimak, Summer Maxwell, Grace White, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu, B Final, 2nd (6:23)
Second varsity 4: Sophie Bodager, Valentine Bulpin, Anya Buchovecky, Molly O’Neill, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu, 8th (6:23.410); Alice Pope, Stephanie Gardner, Katherine Worden, Taylor Tracey, and coxswain Chloe Kranz, 9th (6:49)
Third varsity 4: Emily Szelest, Polina Bolberova, Jackie Sater, Audrey Maxwell, and coxswain Rachel Shrives, 6th (6:47)
Lightweight 4: Erin Smith, Kaylee Liu, Zoe Flanzer, Alissa Kong, and coxswain Rachel Shrives, 5th (6:18)
Junior single: Erin Smith, 6th (6:42.351)
Junior B single: Anna Shlimak, 3rd (6:39.791)
