by Jill Maxwell ·
Friday, September 27, 2024
Varsity boys and girls of Bromfield Acton-Boxborough rowing opened their season with the Community Rowing Inc. Fall Classic on the Charles River on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Despite having to change course to avoid two crews tangled up and blocking the race lane ahead of them, the girls coxed quad, rowed by Will Stoddard, Ellie Daly, Emma Gregg, and Johnny Greenberg and coxed by Hanna Lem Moustakas, achieved a third-place finish. That boat has a berth in next month’s Head of the Charles Regatta. “The vibe I get is that this group is all-in this year,” said Holly Hatton, the head coach of the varsity girls. “They are on top of their game.”
The boys 8 clocked an 11th-place finish in a field of 30. “We were missing some of our top rowers but still raced well,” said Gary Piantedosi, head coach of the varsity boys. “The guys stepped up and performed.”
BA-B alumnus Luca Basile (Bromfield ’16) entered the parent-child double race with his mom, Diane Basile of Murray Lane, who had rowed in college at the University of Pennsylvania. The duo won gold in a two-crew field. Together, they competed at this year’s Cromwell Cup, a shorter sprint race on the Charles, on a hot July day. But last Saturday’s conditions “brought us back to one of my first races in Saratoga in eighth grade,” Luca said. “Once you’re on the dock and you have to take the boat out, filled with water, and lift it over your head, that’s a different experience.” They are aiming for a berth in the 2025 Head of the Charles.
Crews came from 55 clubs and teams from the northeast and one Catholic high school from Florida. The regatta was canceled last year in the aftermath of a tropical storm; this year rain dogged the athletes and spectators along the 3-mile course. It was a head-style race typical of fall competition, with crews taking off at timed intervals and racing the clock. Registration fees for this regatta help fund CRI’s programs for veterans and people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
BA-B’s next outing, the Textile River Regatta in Lowell on Sunday, Oct. 6, will include the novice and middle school squads in addition to varsity crews.
Jill Maxwell is a BA-B parent and regular contributor.
Results
Alumni
- Parent Child 2x: Diane Basile and Luca Basile, first place, 23 minutes, 21.6 seconds
Varsity boys
- 4+: Reid Nelson, Patrick Tucker, Ulad Danilovich, Shankara Rao, and coxswain Topher Korka, fifth place, 19:36.4; Miles Dusset, Liam Abayasinghe, Felipe Ferraz da Rocha Paes, Noah Friedman, and coxswain Austin Lai, 20th, 24:31.0
- 8+: Gavin Datta, Alex Horton, Parker Cole, Oscar Maxwell, Reid Nelson, Patrick Tucker, Ulad Danilovich, Shankara Rao, and coxswain Noah Kim, 11th, 17:56.0; Will O’Donnell, Andrew Zhang, Russell Poutasse, Noah Friedman, Charlie Leuci, Dino Mehic, Julian Fariello, Maxton Zilinek, and coxswain Austin Lai, 24th, 20:37.2
Varsity girls
- Jr. Varsity 4x: Will Stoddard, Ellie Daly, Emma Gregg, Johnny Greenberg, and coxswain Hanna Lem Moustakas, 3rd place, 20 minutes, 16.8 seconds
- Jr. 4+: Emily Yang, Emma Lawson, Beatrice Maxwell, Braeden Hartley, and coxswain Adhiti Venkatesh, sixth, 20:41.6
- Jr. 8+: Gabby Shee, Nooriya Taherbhoy, Sophia Pierce, Ellie Pulido, Izzi Walker, Megha Nookala, Alexis Nichols, Ava Dawn, and coxswain Gwynnie Poutasse, 16th, 20:58.7; Nix Klein, Margaux Lehouck, Ainsley Charland, Sravya Hamsala, Annabelle Purcell, Reval Argow-Sniderman, Abby Hirschberg, Caroline Yang, and coxswain Sofi Marder, 21st, 22:10.1
An x indicates two oars per rower; a + indicates a coxswain in the boat.