By David Pepin:
Weekend mornings are made for relaxing, but they have to wait for the Assumption College women’s rowing team, who had work to do on the water on what was a beautiful Saturday morning.
The women’s rowing team raced two boats at this weekend’s Clark Invitational on Lake Quinsigamond. The 1st Varsity eight placing fifth in their heat with a time of 7:54.0, and the 2nd Varsity eight placing fourth in their heat with a time of 8:35.0.
Washington College won both events, with a time of 7:34.4 in the first heat and a time of 8:00.5 in the second heat.
The Hounds competed in the women’s varsity eights 2000 meter event, just one of the many races they were a part of in both men’s and women’s divisions.
Cars were lined up and down the streets of the Donahue Rowing Center in Shrewsbury, where the starting line was positioned. An impressive crowd gathered to support the different schools in the race.
The Hounds faced off against four other schools in their race (Washington College, Clark, Connecticut College, and Johnson and Wales), which was their first of the spring season.
“For our first race it was a really good one to put out there,” said sophomore Gina Savino when asked about how the race went.
The Hounds were blessed with great conditions for this time of year as well, with temperatures a bit chilly earlier in the morning, but they quickly warmed up, helping them mark a strong start to the season.
“We were really strong, we kept the power, we made good moves on the other boats,” said sophomore Emily Baker.
The race was the first of eight for the Hounds this spring. They competed again this past weekend on Sunday at the WPI Invitational on Lake Quinsigamond, and they are back in action next weekend at the Knecht Cup in Mercer Lake, New Jersey.
THE AC301 