The Head of The Charles is the greatest celebration of rowing in the United States. Over the course of three days juniors, eighty-somethings and everyone in between compete in a number of different boat classes in pursuit of the same goal: victory. The collegiate eight categories provides an early yardstick. Whilst the team that wins on the Charles won’t always win the IRA Championships, it’s the crown-jewel of the fall racing season and nonetheless treated with equal respect.
Drexel University
The Drexel Dragons with be looking to repeat last year’s victory. It will be interesting to see how they cope after an drastic change to their coaching staff. New head coach Matt Weaver comes from a very successful tenure as the assistant coach at UW as well as coaching the Canadian u23s, where he paved way to a gold medal winning 4-. Their first race saw them perform underwhelmingly at Navy Day Regatta, losing to La Salle, another competitor in this event.
Williams College
Williams College, who placed second last year will feel confident after a convincing victory at last year’s IRAs. It will be interesting to see how they do after having graduated Ben Washbourne, who won silver in the PR3 Coxed four this year. Williams have been the crew to beat at the D3 level for some time and it will be interesting to see if they can continue this streak at the Charles.
La Salle University
La Salle are another name to keep an eye on. They have been building positive momentum for some time now. After a historic spring that saw their varsity eight take silver medals at Dad Vails, Bergen Cup, Kerr Cup, and Murphy Cup, and two bronze medals at the Knecht Cup and Windermere Cascade Cup. Nick O’Neill, the six seat of said eight is a prodigious athlete, holding the universities 2k and 6k records at only 19.
Temple University
Temple, who came fourth last year, could very well challenge for the title. They boast an experienced crew, with Adam Oliver having earned a Great Britain under 23 vest in the double. They were beaten by La Salle at the Navy Day regatta however, so it will remain to be seen if they can upset them in this slightly longer fixture.
Holy Cross University
Third place last year was Holy Cross. Their Crusader branding and distinctive purple are always good viewing. They lost to MIT on their home waters in the Head of the Snake, not a good indicator for success to come in head racing.
Predictions
It is very difficult to predict the Charles, due both to the short season thus far and the uniqueness of the course, in which relative skill between coxswains plays an even greater factor than usual. With that being said La Salle seem the obvious favourites, having taken the greatest scalps of any crew entered at the Navy Day regatta. They will be hoping to continue the momentum they generated last year. Beyond that it is hard not to see Williams and MIT as the next two favourites, due to the former’s consistent success and the latter’s victory over Holy Cross. I will put Williams just ahead of MIT, as they have shown themselves to be a class unit on too many occasions.
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