We Few, We Happy Few

Saturday morning, June 24th, Henley-on-Thames

What a week it has been for Williams Men's Crew!

Tuesday night, the entire team dressed up and shipped out to Oxford to attend a dinner at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford with the current WEPO program and alumni from the Class of 1968, who were invited here for a pre-50th reunion Oxford/England tour. Our rowers couldn't help but be the dapper bells of the ball in our pristine purple and gold blazers. After introductions, the rowers spread around the room, getting to know the alumni and WEPO students over a delicious 3-course dinner of salmon, more salmon, and tiramisu. Coach Slater gave a speech on the present team, our journey, and our goals, while '68 alum Tom Nicholson (one of the founding members of the modern crew team) gave remarks on the team's history, certainly putting this trip in perspective vis-a-vis the modern program's humble beginnings as a struggling club team in the late 1960s. Finally, one of the captains, Michael Polson, spoke on behalf of the team, with his classic mix of witty humor and striking sentiment. He remarked not only on the irony of being descended from Oxford ("Harvard of England") and Williams ("Harvard of Massachusetts") grads, but also on the impact of the crew program and the efforts of the individual rowers this season. While saying our goodbyes, we couldn't help but advertise our qualifying races to the alums that would be happening on Friday, for which we hoped to have a sizable Williams contingent.

Wednesday saw another sweltering day. We were sweating bullets in our formalwear the night before, and the heat just kept on building. We headed down to the course for a row at 7:30 AM - just a few laps with some race prep - as we started our taper for Friday. We then gladly retreated to the house to cool down in the shade for the rest of the day. Coach discovered a "secret" shady footpath down to the course, which at least seems less hilly than our normal route. As we ended up having a short afternoon swing row in less sun but more heat, we followed coach down this new trail, which seemed more like something out of tomb raider at times. At least it was very shady! We enjoyed another dinner at the Rowbarge of the English classic, bangers and mash, before heading home. We were happy to hear that as Wednesday was "the night before the night before" our qualifiers, we would be sleeping in the next morning.

Thursday proved to be much cooler and the boys indeed did enjoy a little extra sleep. Some of us walked into town for some brunch. The afternoon proved to be the dress rehearsal for our qualifier on Friday. Each boat arrived at the course an hour before their respective launch times, did all the pre-race meetings, warm ups, and rituals, and went out for a swing row in the cooler weather with some race-pace pieces to get the mojo going for the next day. This was also a great opportunity to get some steady state and pressure work done in similar conditions to the actual qualifying races. We then returned to the house for an incredible dinner of potato and pasta salad, seasoned chicken, focaccia bread, and apple pie, prepared by our incredible host mother, Janine Stevens. The troops ate their fill before heading to rest before Friday's qualifiers.

Friday started with a reasonable wakeup to make it down to the course for one last lap to solidify boat rhythm and collective muscle memory for the races in the afternoon. More strokes can't hurt, after all. Both crews had solid rows and felt limber and confident going into the afternoon races. Everyone would agree that the rowers here as a whole, and boat to boat, made incredible strides fitness and technique-wise since coming to England, and even in the past week alone. We were very happy to hear that our efforts Tuesday night had indeed paid off, and many from the Class of '68 made the trip to Henley to cheer on our boats in the qualifier. Walking the boat from the tent to the dock, we felt like we had our own little group of paparazzi, as many alums and friends of Williams Crew came down to send us off before heading back in front of the enclosures to watch the racing. Both crews will not soon forget the cheers we heard from our alums and supporters who were spread out just before the finish line.

Boy howdy did it all pay off! With the weather on the course consistently bringing a strong cross/head wind, both boats arrived at the boat tents ready for battle and executed the prior day's pre-race warmup unfazed by the circus-like scene at the boat tents. The energy in the air was palpable. The 4+ bid for the Prince Albert cup saw them in a time trial against 28 other crews for 8 spots. Loose from the warmup and confident from a fantastic week of practice, they mounted an incredible effort in headwind that increased in strength towards the finish, leaving nothing out on the water. Despite it all, the 4 missed qualifying by about 12 seconds against some very very fast crews, which included Deerfield, Kent, and Durham. Neither Bowdoin four qualified, nor did any of WPI's fours. Though disappointed in the tight result, the boat (made up of 3 freshman and a senior), relished in besting Oxford Brookes's entry who had beaten them at Eton last Saturday, as well as making up time on both Bowdoin crews.

 The 8+ faced some 50+ crews for 9 spots in the Temple Challenge cup, made up of both high school and university level crews. Coming off of a similarly-fruitful week of practices, they put together an aggressive piece in the conditions, seeming to leave the trailing WPI crew in the dust. And, well, the results spoke for themselves. Hearts pounding, we gathered around the loudspeaker in front of the boat tents to hear the results. It was pure bedlam once we heard "Williams College, USA" called over the loudspeaker, the tension all the greater as we were one of the last names to be called. With the conditions, and the odds we had, there was much uncertainty over whether we'd make the cut. With many crying tears of joy, this was truly a sweet end to a very emotional day. This was a victory for not only the 8 itself, but the team as a whole, in England and around the world. We came this far to race, race we did, and race we will again...man to man, between the booms. As we gathered at the Rowbarge for a delicious meal of pasta, garlic bread, and salad, we reflected on how far the team has come, the sacrifices made on the day, and the work we all have yet to complete.

Saturday brings Reading, an 800 meter regatta just up the Thames, as well as the draw, to see who we will be racing come Wednesday in the Temple Challenge Cup. Once more into the breach...