The 2005-06 season carried with it the momentum from the team’s trip to the Henley Royal Regatta in 2005 where they became the first Colby men’s crew to win an international race. The returning athletes took the experience gained there and continued to move the team forward through the fall, winter, and spring seasons.

The spring season featured a series of close races against NESCAC’s perennially strong competition and was highlighted by a ninth place finish at the New England Rowing Championships and a subsequent selection to the ECAC National Invitational Regatta. With the graduation of two seniors and the return of many key first-year rowers who competed in both the varsity and second varsity crews last spring, the team is looking forward to continued success in the 2006-07 season.

The Colby men's crew will start the 2005-06 season with some confidence after beating the Oxford jayvee at the Royal Henley Regatta in England this past summer.

The Mules will have captains Joey Berg '06 and Rob Zondervan '07 leading a core group of rowers who were critical to the success the team had in 2004-05 and also will welcome in a hard-working group of sophomores.

Colby advanced at the Henley Royal Regatta for the first time ever during June 29th opening round competition and then lost during the second round on June 30.

Colby's varsity 8 started the Temple Challenge Cup regatta with a victory over Isis, the jayvee boat for Oxford University. The Mules covered the 2,112-meter course in six minutes, 45 seconds to defeat the Oxford boat by one-half length. Colby's time was second best of the day behind Manchester University's clocking of 6:43.

In Thursday's second round, University of West England's varsity 8 boat finished with a time of 6:56 to defeat Colby by just over one length.

Colby's crew included: coxswain Michelle Easton '08 (Andover, Mass.), Ted Farwell '05 (Madison, Wisc.), Jon Ferris '07 (Pittsford, N.Y.), Rob Zondervan '07 (Claremont, Calif.), Tim Roberts '05 (Schuylerville, N.Y.), Nathaniel Hulme '05 (Framingham, Mass.), Stephen Whelpley '05 (Mequon, Wisc.), Kevin Selby '05 (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) and Wally Sedgewick '08 (Washington, D.C.).

The Temple Challenge Cup was instituted in 1990 at the Henley Royal Regatta for boats of single colleges, of smaller college boat clubs and for schools unable to enter the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup by reason of age.

Colby's second varsity 8 boat also made the trip to England and just missed qualifying for the Temple Challenge Cup.

The Colby men last competed at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2000. The Colby women's crew, the 2003 NCAA Division III champions, competed at the event in 2000 and 2004.

The 2004-05 season was built on the foundation the men's crew laid in the weeks and months before racing began. The fall season saw some of the team's highest finishes at the fall head races in a number of years and the winter months of indoor training saw the entire team achieve unprecedented fitness levels leading into the spring racing season.

Colby won the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) President's Cup for the fifth straight year with wins over its Maine rivals. The Mules also took seventh place at the New England Rowing Championships, their best finish since 1999 and qualified both the varsity and junior varsity eights for the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships. The season wrapped up with a trip for both varsity crews to the 2005 Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.

The men's crew placed fifth at the Textile River Regatta and was second at the CBB Fall Head Race during a short fall season. The Mules also raced and placed 28th in the collegiate 8 at the Head of the Charles Regatta.

Men's crew did its share in helping the Colby crew program win the Presidents Cup with wins over Bates and Bowdoin. The Mules also took seventh place at the New England Rowing Championships, their best finish since 1999.

Program Overview

Crew is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the nation and for almost 20 years it has grown in size and increased in speed at Colby. The College's crew rows on nearby Messalonskee Lake at the Colby-Hume Center. The center features a recently expanded boathouse and seven miles of sheltered water.

The Colby crew believes that a student athlete's education can be significantly enhanced outside the classroom. Our rowers accomplish this with the commitment they make to one another, to the team, and to the process of attaining athletic excellence. Through year-round training we maximize cardiovascular conditioning, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, rowing technique, and psychological preparation. The combination of training and racing provides our students with a rich collegiate experience.

To meet their goals the crew uses the fall to redefine technique, create a base of fitness, and gain valuable racing experience. The winter schedule consists of indoor training crucial to success in the spring. In February the crews return to the water for the challenge of the spring racing season. Each weekend in April includes races against crews from across New England, including the New England Rowing Championships and the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships.

About the Colby-Hume Center

Women's Crew