Bromfield Acton-Boxborough crews closed out the fall 2018 season at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs, New York, on Saturday, Oct. 27, and Sunday, Oct. 28. Almost 2,000 boats from 153 teams across the Northeast vied for hand-decorated trophies in the form of fish heads mounted on plaques. (Plaques from previous BA-B wins hang proudly in the Harvard General Store.) Dwight Fairchild, Stefan Scornavacca, Ben Buchovecky, Kevin Yu, and coxswain Amy Zhu finished third in the first varsity 4+. Many other BA-B crews turned in top-10 results. Event organizers canceled singles sculling races scheduled for Saturday, due to high winds.
Five boys traveled with a parent volunteer early Saturday morning for their singles races, scheduled for early afternoon. The rest of the team boarded a bus at Bromfield at 10 a.m. only to discover a flat tire. They waited for a replacement bus until coaches became concerned that the girls would miss their singles event a little later in the day. More parents converged to drive six girls ahead of the bus. An hour or so into their journey, they got word that all of the singles had been scuttled due to the cold, rainy, windy conditions. “I was really looking forward to see if we could build on our success from the Head of the Quinobequin,” said Holly Hatton, the program director and head girls varsity coach. Brian DeDominici, the head coach of boys varsity, was equally disappointed. “Unfortunately conditions did not allow the event to be safely run,” he said.
Sunday proved more auspicious. Competing against the top junior clubs in the region, including powerhouse Greenwich from Connecticut, home team Saratoga Rowing Association, and perennial rival Community Rowing from Boston, the girls had five top-10 finishes in seven events entered. The girls first varsity 4+ and 8+ each finished fifth in fields of 30 and 35 crews. “What I was most pleased about was seeing how far the girls had come technically,” Hatton said. “Every lineup looked locked into their rhythm and really powering their way up the course.” The boys entered eight events and rowed three top-10 times. “Overall we were well prepared for the weather and the varying conditions,” DeDominici said. “I am very happy with the results and all the hard work the team has put in this season.”
After graduating 15 seniors in the spring, the boys team “did a lot of growing and developing this fall,” DeDominici said. “I am excited about where we are ending the season regarding both our competitive achievements and our team culture. I am looking forward to continuing to build on our momentum over the winter.” Some athletes play other sports in the winter; many continue to train with the rowing coaches indoors, looking ahead to the spring 2019 season. The girls are poised for a big year to come, Hatton said: “The majority are juniors and starting to come into their own as seasoned athletes. We have strong bookends of small numbers of seniors and sophomores pushing everyone to be the best they can be.”
Head of the Fish Results
Varsity boys
Mens junior 2x-:Matthew Atwell, Michael Ornek; 31st (14:25)
Mens junior lightweight 4+: Nikhil Kommineni, Christopher Clark, Benjamin Molnar, Cameron McGurk, and coxswain Sarah Burke; 6th (13:15)
Mens junior 1V 4+: Kevin Yu, Benjamin Buchovecky, Stefan Scornavacca, Dwight Fairchild, and coxswain Amy Zhu; 3rd (12:07)
Mens junior 2V 4+: Patrick Stoffel, Connor O’Shea, William Bardenheuer, John Babcock, and coxswain Arjun Khurana; 12th (13:32); Maxwell Ewing, Ryan Camposano, Sam Jackson, John Hawes, and coxswain Thomas Vialle; 19th (14:03)
Boys junior 1V 8+: Kevin Yu, Benjamin Buchovecky, Stefan Scornavacca, Nikhil Kommineni, Christopher Clark, Dwight Fairchild, Cameron McGurk, Sam Jackson, and coxswain Amy Zhu; 11th (11:31)
Boys junior 2V 8+: Patrick Stoffel, Ryan Camposano, Maxwell Ewing, John Hawes, William Bardenheuer, Connor O’Shea, Benjamin Molnar, John Babcock, and coxswain Sarah Burke; 11th (13:01)
Boys junior 3V 8+: Olivier Bradley, Sebastian Parker, Matthew Atwell, Brian Borghesani, Michael Ornek, Benjamin Boucher, Thomas Vialle, Timur Sahin, and coxswain Arjun Khurana; 6th (13:08)
Head of the Fish Results
Varsity girls
Girls junior lightweight 2x-: Audrey Maxwell, Arianna Thornton; 15th (15:58)
Girls junior 1V 4x-: Grace White, Anya Buchovecky, Emma Gresco-Caulfield, and Zoe Flanzer; 8th (14:14)
Girls junior 1V 4+: Kaylee Liu, Summer Maxwell, Katherine Fay, Anna Shlimak, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu; 5th (13:31)
Girls junior 2V 4+: Sophia Defoe, Celeste Keep, Molly O’Neill, Sophie Bodager, and coxswain Rachel Shrives; 10th (14:57); Eleni Papoutsakis, Hayley Minar, Brooke Bourgeois, Julia Hawes, and coxswain Chloe Kranz; 18th (15:58)
Girls junior 1V 8+: Kaylee Liu, Zoe Flanzer, Molly O’Neill, Anya Buchovecky, Grace White, Summer Maxwell, Katherine Fay, Anna Shlimak, and coxswain Rachel Shrives; 5th (11:49)
Girls junior 2V 8+: Audrey Maxwell, Emma Perkins, Sophia Defoe, Celeste Keep, Emma Gresco-Caulfield, Emily Szelest, Arianna Thornton, Sophie Bodager, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu; 10th (13:28)
