It’s been five weeks – five long weeks of rowing and waiting – and finally, Wayland-Weston Crew will open its racing season at the Textile River Regatta. The race is this Sunday, on the Merrimack River in Lowell, Massachusetts.

“I feel like the team’s really coming together now,” said senior Brendan Stack. Fellow senior and boys varsity captain Bobby Dresser agreed, adding, “We’re gearing up.”

While the wait has made many impatient, there have also been benefits for the teams. Largely due to scheduling abnormalities, the extra time has translated into improved technique for many rowers, instead of the usual rush to get back into racing shape. “We’ve made a lot of strides in the past month,” explained girls varsity coach Matt Hanig. “I’d say technically the learning curve has been very steep, and it has progressed very nicely.”

The varsity girls and boys teams will race the course, each bringing 4 eights (boats of eight rowers, plus a coxswain) to the starting line on Sunday. For the boys varsity team, this race also marks their first competition under the leadership of a new coach, Brian DeDominici.

Both a rower and a coxswain himself, DeDominici comes to the team with no lack of experience. He has coached extensively at both the high school and college level, including a two-season stint as Wayland-Weston’s novice girls coach in the 07-08 season.

“It feels easy to make that transition,” said DeDominici. “I know how things work here, I know what’s expected, and I know what potential the guys have.”

As a whole, the entire Wayland-Weston team is coming off of an extremely strong spring season, having won the MSPRA State Championship back in May. Rowers and coaches alike are eager to get to the starting line.

“It’s great to get racing because we’re a really deep squad (the girls team) – we have 4 eights, 4 talented eights. It’ll be pretty exciting to see what everyone can do this week,” said assistant girls varsity coach Ande Riseman.

“I want it to be something that they’re going to build off of,” explained DeDominici of his hopes for the race. “I also want it to be successful, I want them to row well, I want them to come off the water feeling like they put everything into every stroke, but it’s definitely the first step of the season. We’re going to go from there and see what comes with it.”

Meanwhile, the novice teams are taking another week to prepare for their first race. Their debut will be at the Head of the Housatonic , in Connecticut , on Saturday, October 10^th. How are these brand new rowers coming along? “It’s always a long painful process to get the novices going,” said boys novice coach Mike Cutting, “but at the same time, I think that we’re getting there.”