Oarsmen Seek Titles

With hundreds of athletes and thousands of spectators flocking to the banks of the Charles River for one of the most well-known regattas in the world, the Harvard heavyweight and lightweight men are looking to make strong starts to their 2014-2015 competition seasons at this year’s Head of the Charles.

HEAVYWEIGHTS

The Crimson heavyweights plan to build upon their success under the leadership of Charley Butt in his second year as head coach.

The team finished its spring season undefeated in dual regattas and picked up the Stein, Compton, and Adams Cups in addition to a first-place finish at the EARC sprints.

With these accomplishments coming during Butt’s first year, the heavyweights are looking to improve upon last season’s impressive showing over the course of the coming campaign.

“Last year was a huge change for all of us, with Charley coming in,” captain Max Meyer-Bosse said. “I think we kind of realized after the season was over that there were things that went really smoothly in that transition, and other things that we could work on. So I think this year the focus is [to] keep the things going that we had last year, and try to improve upon the things where we had room for it.”

The crew returns an experienced group. Junior Vincent Breet, sophomore Chase Buchholz, and several other veterans competed at various international regattas this summer, often ending up on the medal podium.

“Training has been great so far,” Meyer-Bosse said. “We have a really strong freshman class this year, and the sophomores who had already had such a big presence on the team last year are really continuing with that. We have a lot of strong leaders this year as well, so all around the morale in the boat house is pretty high going into this competition season.”

The 2014 Head of the Charles Regatta will provide an opportunity for the squad to set the tone for the season.

“When it comes down to it, all crews are going to try to throw down their fastest heat at HOCR,” Meyer-Bosse said. “Head Of the Charles is a goal point for us. It’s something that we can really focus on right now. But at the same time, we are always trying to take things one day at a time, one race at a time.”

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Coming back from its own strong spring season, the lightweight crew has its work cut out for it.

“Last year, we started the season off with high hopes and expectations,” captain Alexander Bonorris said. “We finished second in varsity eight at Head of the Charles and 2V got fifth, so those are both really strong finishes…. We had an uphill battle last spring, which is the important racing season for us, but our team overall finished really strong.”

Last year’s second place finish at IRA championships has kept motivation high for the Crimson, which looks to reach the top of the stand this year.

“In training this year, you can definitely tell that there’s a bit more urgency,” Bonorris said. “We are doing more focused work, and I would say that we are very well prepped for the upcoming races. [Coach Michiel] Bartman has done a great job setting a really professional tone right off the bat, and you can see the results.”

This will be Bartman’s second Head of the Charles as coach of the lightweight men, while assistant coaches Kristen Brownlee and Ian Accomando play new parts to the squad this year.

“The mindset is that we are returning a good amount of our varsity eight, 2V, and 3V,” Bonorris said. “We were so close to the gold, and we were so close to that national championship. So we just need to work harder, and we know that it’s within reach.”

Staff writer Jillian Dukes can be reached at jdukes01@college.harvard.edu.