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 The men's rowers dueled Georgetown Sunday on the Potomac. |
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Men's Rowing Duels Georgetown
May 5, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC - The GW Men's Rowing team competed against Georgetown Sunday in their annual race on the Potomac River known as "The Duel." GW's freshmen eight defeated Georgetown while the Colonials' varsity eight were defeated by their crosstown rivals.
This unique format for racing tests the crews over a series of 1,000-meter races, rather than the standard 2,000-meter race. The Freshmen and Second Varsity compete in a best of three series while the Varsity Eights go for best-of-five 1,000-meter pieces.
"This race provides a great opportunity for us to train at a higher race cadence over short, intense distances," GW coach Matt Boyle said. "It gives us a chance to prepare all of our crews for the championship races that we have at the end of our season."
GW's freshmen eight, coached by Jim O'Connor, started well with a decisive victory over Georgetown. The Freshmen swept the best-of-three 1,000-meter pieces, winning the first piece by nine seconds in a time of 2:44.8. The crew raced with a powerful rhythm through rough conditions and looked very strong in victory. Rowing in the men's eight of 1956, and with GW men's team founder Sandy Morrison cheering them on from a launch following the race, the freshmen put on a good show for the Colonials fans.
The GW varsity started its day with the same result by winning the first piece by one length over Georgetown but couldn't match Georgetown's speed after that. Georgetown came back to win the second piece by two seconds and the third piece went down to the wire before GW was edged by four-tenths of a second. "It was a tremendous effort by all GW oarsmen," Boyle said.
The event also provided the GW Rowing Alumni a chance to come back to Foggy Bottom and get back on the water. Alumni from both GW and Georgetown compete against each other after the collegiate races. The exhibitions provide an opportunity for the current oarsmen to meet the former rowers who paved the way for them.
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Next up for the GW men is the ECAC Championship Regatta, May 8-9, in Worcester, MA.
Men's Rowing relies primarily on 'walk-on' athletes. Interested freshmen are encouraged to e-mail gwcrew@gwu.edu for information on how to join the team.
