Men’s crew traveled to Cambridge, Mass., on Sunday to compete in the 59th annual Head of the Charles. The 1v and the 2v finished in seventh and 19th places, respectively, at the world’s largest regatta, which boasted more than 2,500 entries and thousands of spectators this year. Families, coaches, and alums gathered to cheer on the Ephs as they concluded their fall season.
The Ephs entered the approximately 4,700m race with two eights and a four, and each boat achieved strong finishes. In the collegiate eights race, the 1v placed seventh with a time of 14:57.559, 27 seconds behind LaSalle University’s winning boat. The 2v ended in 19th place, completing the course in 15:20.974, and the 3v placed 25th, clocking in at 16:15.540.
Co-captain Owen Maier ’25, who rowed in the 1v, was proud of the team’s performance. “We tried to emphasize aggressive racing as a continuation from last spring … and I think it really paid off,” he told the Record. “I think we showed the potential of our speed this fall very, very well.”
“Our tenacity to both hold off Temple, who were coming behind us, as well as passing Wesleyan, who were in front of us, showed a lot of real grit and determination in the crew,” Maier added.
Maier said he was pleased to have bested NESCAC opponent Wesleyan — but added that losing to Tufts and Trinity left “a bit of a sour taste in [his] mouth.” However, the co-captain said the losses will serve as motivation for the spring season.
Maier also highlighted the performance of Christina Zhang ’27 and Kipp Kaplan ’28, coxswains of the 1v and 2v, respectively. “The Head of the Charles is a really interesting race because it’s one of the most coxswain-specific races on our calendar,” he said. “One special element that they have to deal with in the fall versus in the spring … is passing crews inside the turns. They put a lot of effort [into] visualizing the race course, knowing the ins and outs of every single turn on the river.”
Second seat Blaz Vavpetic ’27 added that the team had dedicated itself to practicing sharp turns leading up to the regatta. “The Elliot Bridge turn is kind of the biggest moment,” he told the Record. “The coxswains do a huge job there… If we take the turn too wide, we could add 50 meters to the race, which is a big difference when it comes to overall times.”
Vavpetic said the 3v demonstrated improvement from last year. “Although we didn’t place as well as we would have liked, we posted fast times and … were happier with [our] rows than last year,” he said. “The team’s in a really good spot. Everybody showed up ready to go this year, ready to train, ready to work… We’ve just been getting a lot faster as a team.”
Maier also emphasized that the regatta was unlike any other the team attends. “It’s also just a great way to celebrate rowing,” he said. “It was a great day for that across all boats, on the men’s and women’s teams. Everyone just had a ton of fun taking it all in.”
Vavpetic echoed Maier’s sentiment. “It’s just such an electric atmosphere,” he said. “Even the bridges way down at the start … were packed with people looking over the side.”
As the fall season comes to a close, men’s crew is looking ahead toward the spring semester. “Our end goal is obviously winning the IRA’s Div. 3 nationals,” Vavpetic said. “That’s the culmination of everything we work for… Everything throughout the season is just kind of one more step to get there.”
