After a winter of intense training, the crew team headed out on the water March 10 with high expectations for the spring season.
Throughout the winter, the team has concentrated on tough training sessions. Players trained three times a week for three hours each at the Jewish Community Center in Rockville and have been using rowing machines known as ergs to get in shape for spring. They have also gone through a series of strength and lactic acid exercises to get a leg up on the competition.
“After some tough months of winter conditioning, I’m so excited to get on the water and see what we can do,” senior captain Alisa Dan said. “I think it is safe to say everyone is excited to get on the water and row together.”
Led by girls captains Dan and senior Julianna Hsing and boys senior captain Mac Dunmire, the team is looking to dominate this spring after an impressive showing in the fall season. It competed in the Head of the Anacostia Regatta, where it swept all of its competition to come in first place. The team also had an impressive showing at the Head of the Occoquan Regatta, where it won four gold medals.
“Rowing is a true team sport,” Dan said. “Everyone has had to give it their all to succeed.”
At the Feb. 12 National Capital Erg invitational at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., the team showed its depth, as several people stood out among the area’s top rowers.
Senior Tori Hoffman came in first place in the 1500 meter High School Varsity Women’s Lightweight class with a time of 6:02:9, and senior Jackie Tauberman grabbed fourth place with a time of 6:17:8.
“This year, we have a lot of really good rowers, and I can’t say who is exactly a standout rower because in crew, the whole boat is one team and everyone is the same,” Hsing said. “Even if there are better rowers on the team, we have a saying that you are only as strong as the weakest person on the boat.”
Junior Charlie Morris came in fourth place in the High School Varsity Men’s division with a time of 5:05:3. Junior Matt Reback nabbed first place in the 1,000 meter Men’s High School Novice weight class with an impressive 3:19:5 time. CHS also came in first in both the men’s and women’s relays.
“Some of the best boys rowers will be junior Charlie Wathieu, seniors Will Mulhern and Myles Taylor, Reback and Morris because they have the strongest and best technique,” Dunmire said.
The team began its training on the Anacostia River in Bladensburg March 10 and will scrimmage several other high schools to prepare for the season. On March 31 it will compete in the Cindy Cole Cup followed by the April 29 Maryland State Championships. It will also compete in the WMIRA Championships in May.
“It would be really great if we could bring home another gold medal,” Hsing said. “I think it’s definitely possible because each minute we spend together, whether it’s training hard on the river or having a team dinner at Chipotle, we are all bonding as one team because we all have one common goal: to row as one team.”
