Spring rowers score big on the home stretch

Quintin Bowers ’24, Jackson Harrington ’24, Alex Herrmann ’23, and Jack Squillaro ’23 leave the dock – courtesy of Quintin Bowers ’24

For the first time in over twenty years, the crew team won the spring Horvat Manny Flick Series regular season Boys Sculling points trophy. The trophy is awarded to the team that best performs in either sculling or sweeping events throughout the regular Manny Flick season. 

This victory was not much of a surprise since several Haverford sculling boats performed well at various points throughout the series. Most notably the freshman quad, novice double, JV double, lightweight double, lightweight quad, and varsity quad all enjoyed successes this regular season, adding to the points collection. All of these boats have consistently placed top three in their respective races throughout the Horvat series.

Now the team’s focus shifts from the regular season Horvat series to the “playoffs” of spring crew: City Championships, the Stotesbury Regatta, and SRAA Nationals. The team hopes to continue its success and win medals. 

Luckily, the spring weather has been pleasant, and the team has been able to get ample training time on the Schuylkill River. This, combined with on-land erg and general fitness workouts, has helped boost fitness levels while improving technique. 

Ryan Gibson ’24, Jack Suter ’23, Michael Bartholdson ’25, and Quintin Bowers ’24 row – courtesy of Quintin Bowers ’24

“Our training is usually a mix: on-land training and on-water,” Sixth Former Evan Wang said. “We’ve all put so much work on and off the river.” 

The team now looks forward to end-of-season championship regattas, especially the Stotesbury Regatta: the world’s largest high school regatta, where the team hopes to earn gold for the third year in a row.

“We finished our regular season strong with a few big wins, and now we are looking forward to bringing the same energy to City Champs and Stotesbury,”  Fifth Former Joseph Herd said.

For year-round rowers, Stotesbury Regatta and City Champs are more than just the “playoffs.” They are what the rowers have been preparing for throughout the whole year. 

“[Stotesbury Regatta and City Champs] are sort of in the back of your head every practice,” Fifth Former William Walker said. “Especially in the winter, the motivation to work hard is all fueled by these races.”