Whether or not home field advantage affects most sports is open for debate, but in crew, the advantage is a fact. Navigating a certain lake or river on a daily basis and understanding the logistics of a course prior to racing on it, is very beneficial for both rowers and coxswains. But the Colgate varsity and novice men’s crew teams didn’t let this advantage get in their way November 14-15, as the teams took home four first place medals in Philadelphia, PA.At the Frostbite Regatta on November 14, the Varsity 8 placed first with a time of 4:01.86, beating the University of Pennsylvania on its home course on the famed Schuylkill River. Temple University finished in third place, while Drexel came in fourth and the University of Delaware took fifth.”I’d say that the highlight of the trip was beating Temple and UPenn on Saturday,” senior Paul Kelly said. “We were pretty confident that we could win, but we also knew how good the other crews were.”In an impressive showing by the novice men’s team, Colgate won the Frostbite with a time of 4:45.21. The men took first place medals after beating Lehigh, Loyola, Binghamton, Wilkes and Oswego. The novice team garnered more hardware, as it went on to win the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta on Sunday in a time of 4:33.88. The Novice 8 placed over Ithaca, Rochester and Penn State University.The varsity men had an exciting race at the Braxton, beating Temple by less than two seconds to row away with another win. Colgate finished in 4:17.10, while Temple was second (4:19.60) and Loyola finished third (4:48.90).”We were very happy with the results,” assistant coach Warren Holland said. “The varsity proved that they can hang with the best, and the first-years set their standards high by winning their first two sprint races as Colgate oarsmen.” The men’s teams are back in action on the ergs until water practices begin again after Spring break. “All we can work on now is strength and endurance,” Kelly said. “I know everyone is motivated, so that will not be an issue. Once we are back on the water we need to pick up where we left off in terms of rowing technique and rowing together. In the past it has taken us half of the season to start rowing well together, but we can’t afford that this year.”The varsity men want to win the ECACs and they are confident that this goal is within reach. “[The men] will be working hard this winter, and we expect to continue this success into the spring,” Holland said. “If we can show this kind of speed during our championship season, we will certainly post some amazing results.”Such success will not come easily though, as the men work hard on a daily basis to improve individual times and fitness. They understand the commitment needed to reach intended goals and have collectively dedicated themselves towards reaching the award docks in the spring. “If we want to compete against the best,” Holland said, “we will have to train hard to match their strength.”