Crew Opens Season at Head of the Riverfront

HARTFORD, Conn. (Oct. 4, 2009) – The Mount Holyoke College crew team kicked off its 2009-10 season at the Head of the Riverfront Regatta on Sunday. A total of six boats competed for the Lyons on the Connecticut River in Hartford, Connecticut.

Mount Holyoke entrants posted second place results in three races.

The Lyons top varsity eight boat finished just five seconds off the pace set by Trinity College in the first college eight division. Its time of 22:41 was good for second place overall and put it in front of New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rivals Smith College and the Coast Guard Academy. Mount Holyoke’s second varsity eight boat also took part in the race, finishing in 12th place with a time of 24:59.

Recent graduate and current assist coach, Sarah Gray secured second place in the open 1x division with a time of 31:26.

Meanwhile, the Lyons first novice eight boat matched the feat in its race, crossing the line in 24:46. It finished just 13 seconds behind the United States Military Academy.

Mount Holyoke’s third varsity boat notched a seventh place result (26:27) in the second college eight competition to round things out.

The Lyons will be in action again next Saturday, when they compete in the Head of the Housatonic Regatta on the Housatonic River in Sheldon, Connecticut.