After going virtual in 2020, the world-famous Head of the Charles Regatta returned to Massachusetts Oct. 22 through 24 this year. Bromfield Acton-Boxborough crews and many alumni were there to take on the world-infamous 3-mile course; one BA-B athlete joined a Community Rowing, Inc. para rower in an inclusive double. Race directors awarded medals to crews finishing in the top five; several alumni earned that coveted hardware.
Navigating the seven bridges before throngs of spectators was a thrilling challenge for the BA-B varsity rowers and coxswains. Joining them on the water were 9,702 other athletes from 619 clubs and teams. Sunny skies, temperatures in the 50s, and light winds made for good conditions; athletes broke seven course records over the three-day regatta.
Two of the four BA-B boats competing, the girls and boys first varsity 4s, finished in the top 50% of their fields, requalifying to return next year. “That felt great,” said Ryan Crowley, a senior co-captain of the boys team, who rowed in the boys 4. “I remember when the 4 from 2019 raced. I remember hearing that they requalified. So to hold onto the legacy really felt good.”
From left: Amita Khurana (seated backward), Courtney Clark, Alissa Horton, Rachel Walker, and Sophia Atwell (Courtesy photo)
Sanjana Rao, a senior co-captain on the girls side, seconded that emotion. “We were super excited to hold the slot for next year,” she said. “I’m glad for whoever will get the chance to row.”
The girls 4 had a near miss at Weeks Bridge, Rao said. “There’s almost a 90-degree turn there to get the most efficient line, the shortest meters on the course. We had just passed a team from Texas Rowing Center. Our coxswain made the turn, but theirs didn’t. Their bow ended up hitting our stern. I had to pull my oar out of the way super fast. Luckily it was nothing major, but it definitely got everyone’s adrenaline pumping,” she said. The boys race was comparatively uneventful, Crowley said. “It’s definitely a tricky course, but our coxswain knew what he was doing,” Crowley said. “Getting out there for two practice runs helped a lot.”
The boys double “caught a crab,”—that’s what rowers call it when an oar hits the water wrong and hangs up the boat—which slowed them down. And this was the first year BA-B entered the highly competitive quad event, racing against top sculling teams from around the country. Although these two crews did not requalify for 2022, the team will enter a lottery for additional entries as it has in years past.
One week before the storied contest, Gary Piantedosi, boys head varsity coach, asked AB junior Will Pharo if he’d row in an inclusive double. He said that Jennifer Fitz-Roy, who rows for Community Rowing Inc. with just her torso and arms, needed a partner for the Head of the Charles. Pharo, who had never steered a double, seized the opportunity. Usually the rowers’ seats slide back and forth as they pump their legs, but Fitz-Roy’s seat is stationary. Pharo, too, had to row with only his torso and arms; he could slide his seat just a quarter of the way back to match Fitz-Roy’s stroke. The temporary teammates practiced twice during the week and quickly found their rhythm. They finished 10th in the mixed inclusive double event. “It was super satisfying to know that we were able to do this with the limited time frame and the uncertainty of the weather and limited practice we had. And we actually had a pretty good time,” Pharo said.
Alumni break ‘the curse’
Two crews of BA-B alumni participated, a women’s 8 and a men’s 4. Current varsity coxswain Ben Bluth stepped up to steer the 4 when their alumna coxswain had to call in sick. A total of 14 BA-B alums entered races with their college or club teams. Coxswain Emily Erdos (Bromfield ’15) and her USRowing Training Center Oakland crew won the men’s championship 4. In the women’s collegiate 8 race, Kaylee Liu (AB ’20) finished second with her Wellesley College crew. Katie Erdos (Bromfield ’16), rowing in a Dartmouth alumnae 8, finished third, and Summer Maxwell (AB ’20) finished fifth in a Tufts University boat. Both rowers had raced in a BA-B 4, finishing in sixth and seventh place in 2018 and 2019 and were proud to “break the curse” by placing in the top five to bring home the bling this year.
Holly Hatton, the rowing program director and girls head varsity coach, noted that BA-B has never nabbed a Head of the Charles medal, so “to have some of our alums do so well at the college and championship levels was really exciting.”
Hatton coxed her women’s grand master 8 to a third place finish; After a gorgeous three days on the Charles, the BA-B team’s final fall contest is the Head of the Fish on Oct. 30 and 31 in Saratoga Springs, New York, where the forecast is, as always, rain.
Friday, Oct. 22
Mixed Para Inclusion 2x
William Pharo and Jennfier Fitz-Roy for CRI, 25:03.361, 10th place
Saturday, Oct. 23
Women’s Grand Master 8
Holly Hatton, rowing program director and head girls varsity coach, 19:20.339, 3rd; Ruth Kennedy Sudduth, Bare Hill Rowing Association board member, 20:12.439 12th
Women’s Alumnae 8
Katie Erdos ’16 for Ever Green Boat Club, 16:50.427, 3rd; Bare Hill Rowing Association alumnae Kirstin Thiim ’16, KC Faulkner ’12, Kate Lee ’11, Michelle Ginouves ’17, Erica Marksteiner ’11, Hannah Forgo ’16, Zoe Flanzer ’20, Courtney Robb ’17, and coxswain Elizabeth Swain ’11, 21:36.115, 47th
Women’s Club 4
Molly O’Neill ’20 for University of Connecticut, 19:52.644, 23rd; Stephanie Gardner ’18 for University of Massachusetts Lowell, 21:17.304, 51st
Mens Club 8
Stefan Scornavacca ’20 for Boston University, 14:49.305, 6th; Brian Borghesani ’21 for WPI, 17:05.673, 32nd
Women’s Club 8
Grace White ’19, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 17:23.958, 14th
Men’s Alumni 4
BHRA alumni Conor Finnegan ’10, Ben Buchovecky ’19, Mark Borghesani ’16, Kevin Yu ’20, and coxswain Ben Bluth, 19:53.310, 20th
Sunday, Oct. 24
Women’s Youth 4
Eliza Straayer, Sanjana Rao, Zoe Gendreau-Distler, Melanie Bodtman, and coxswain Sophie Thompson, 19:47.932, 17th
Women’s Youth Coxed Quad
Sophia Atwell, Rachel Walker, Alissa Horton, Courtney Clark, and coxswain Amita Khurana, 21:32.447, 37th
Men’s Youth 2x
Thomas Keefe and Asher Ryba, 20:22.340, 48th
Men’s Youth 4+
Ewan Smith, Ryan Crowley, Charles Maxwell, Clark Hanlon, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, 18:14.945, 27th
Men’s Championship 4+
Emily Erdos ’16 for USRowing Training Center Oakland, 15:34.079, 1st
Men’s Collegiate 8+
Christopher Clark ’20 for College of the Holy Cross, 15:16.93, 7th; Jonathan McWhite ’17 for Marietta College, 15:43.402, 12th; Matthew Atwell ’20 for University of California Los Angeles, 15:47.277, 15th; Matt Adams ’17 for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 15:48.861, 18th
Women’s Collegiate 8+
Kaylee Liu ’20 for Wellesley College, 17:19.578, 2nd; Summer Maxwell ’20 for Tufts University, 17:41.805, 5th; Anya Buchovecky ’21 for Williams College, 17:46.987, 8th; Celeste Keep ’20 for Mt. Holyoke College, 18:14.979 time, 18th
Women’s Collegiate 4+
Rachel Shrives ’20 for Wellesley College, 20:50.833, 18th
