The Oswego State crew team competed in its first regatta since the fall semester on Saturday, entering three races in the Busfield Regatta hosted by Binghamton University in Owego, N.Y. The crew team entered boats in the Men’s Novice 4, Women’s Novice 8 and the Women’s Varsity 4. There were 14 races in the regatta among eight colleges. The eight colleges that competed in the race were Oswego State, SUNY Geneseo, Susquehanna University, University at Buffalo, SUNY Maritime, RPI, Binghamton and Ithaca College.
The Women’s Novice 8 placed fourth in the four-team race, finishing with a time of 7:21. Susquehanna won the race with a time of 6:16, followed by Geneseo at 6:29 and Binghamton at 6:53.
Competing in the regatta were seniors Brenda Fox and Allison Williams, who have a much different back story in rowing. Fox started rowing her freshman year at Oswego State with no prior experience. Williams has been rowing since middle school.
The Women’s Varsity 4 fared better in its race, finishing second at 7:18, 25 seconds behind first-place Binghamton at 6:53. RPI finished third in the three-team race with a time of 7:30.
"The regatta was great competition," said Katherine Webster, captain of the Oswego State women’s crew team. "We rowed against teams like Binghamton, Ithaca and Susquehanna. Those teams are known for always entering strong boats into the races. Although many of the teams we raced against the NCAA teams and have coaches we enjoy racing against them. Without competition we would not be as strong as we are today."
Oswego State’s Men’s Novice 4 had a strong showing, finishing third in the four-team race with a time of 6:38, 24 seconds behind second-place Binghamton’s A-team. Maritime won the race with a time of 5:58, 47 seconds ahead of Binghamton’s B-team, who finished last with a time of 6:45.
"Each boat rowed together amazingly," Webster said. "Rowing is one of the only sports where blending in is the norm. I believe the rowers on each boat were able to find their cadence and truly row together as a team."
