Brendan Read and Fiona Christie During a Corridor Drill
Pre-season is always a challenge as dorms and off campus housing are not available, but 40 new and returning team members found a way to make it happen. We had a great 3 day session September 2-4, going to the Harbor of Refuge all three days with 16 boats to experience some open water sailing. Camp Fuller allowed us to use their new facility as our base operations which made the ocean much closer. The weather all three days was glorious with bright sunshine and warm temperatures. Day 1 was +/- 10 knots, day 2 5-8, and day 3 pumped up to 18 kts. We could not have asked for a better mix.
Junior Sarah Morin and her family hosted the team for a great pasta dinner at their home in East Matunuck the first night. Great meal, great team building. Many new and enduring friendships began this day.
All-American Rachel Bryer and sophomore Sarah Hermus were there and will be the Lady Rams’ starting skippers. Rachel and Hannah Scanlon are ready to dominate. Their chemistry is getting so much better as Hannah gains more confidence after a very full freshman year. Sarah and Marisa Decollibus look great. They developed very rapidly at the end of last season and they look like they kept getting better all summer just thinking about it. Great boatspeed, great starts and great boat handling = great outcomes. The third skipper spot on the women’s team is up for grabs. Junior Julia Elson and sophomore Kim Morecraft have moved up the depth chart with Lucy Jones transferring and both will get plenty of chances as Rachel will be splitting her time with the coed team.
On the coed team senior Matt Coughlin is searching for a new partner following Kaity Norton’s graduation. Heir apparent senior crew Elizabeth Durgin is back following a semester off due to a skiing concussion. We really missed her last spring. Her energy and enthusiasm are huge bonuses on top of her excellent crewing credentials. With Caleb Armstrong sitting out the this fall to save his last semester of eligibility, we have some big shoes to fill. When Rachel is with the women’s team junior Pat Isherwood and sophomore Peter Girard will get lots of chances. Happily, Caleb is still practicing with the team and helping us all get better.
11 freshmen and 3 transfers participated in pre-season and there are some very promising additions. Freshmen skippers Brendan Read, Dakota Northrup, and Sam Rush all performed very well, finishing top 3 in a few races and showing solid credentials throughout. Crews Kate Nota, Lauren Oliveira, Ian Nannig, Ryan Geib, and Max Griswold all show great promise. Emma Dwinell and Junior transfer Mariah McDonald will be valuable additions on the women’s squad. Junior Fiona Christie, back after a semester in Europe, has been a perfect fit with Brendan Read.
First regular practice is September 9th and we expect many more new faces.
