Oct. 20, 2007

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University men's and women's rowing programs will be competing in the 43rd annual Head of the Charles Regatta this Sunday, October 21. The Regatta bills itself as the "biggest outdoor party of the fall in Greater Boston" is this weekend, with more than 8,200 athletes representing 600 universities, schools and rowing clubs from all over the globe. It's anticipated as many as 300,000 spectators will also be in attendance.

Georgetown will be sending four boats to compete in the Men's Championship Eight, Women's Championship Four and two other Lightweight races.

Men's Head Coach Tony Johnson's Championship Eight boat will consist of coxswain Jack Carlson (Cambridge, Mass./Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School), C.J. Mathieu (Middletown, Conn./Xavier), Taylor Frank (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic School), Chris Griswold (Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield Academy), Joe McElwee (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep), Chuck Hartwig (Greendale, Wis./Martin Luther), Luke O'Donnell (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga College H.S.), Michael Stack (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga College H.S.) and Andrew Ciriello (Waterbury, Conn./Sacred Heart H.S.). That race will be the last event of the HOCR on Sunday afternoon.

Women's Head Coach Glenn Putyrae's Championship Four boat will consist of coxswain Bevin Reilly (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy), Christianne Persenaire (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area), Danielle Post (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Senior), Alexis Zink (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Visitation) and Victoria Koke (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown). The men's lightweight program will also be sending two boats to compete in the HORC this weekend as well.

The HORC will have a lot of other things going on this weekend other than the races themselves. There will be a rowing and fitness expo with nearly 60 merchants and exhibitors of all lifestyles, including artisans, clothiers, health organizations, sports groups and much more. There will also be a "Reunion Village", which is a convenient easy-to-find central destination spot for people to meet with friends and family. 'The Village' has one of the best vistas to watch the race events, real-time competitor updates, warm food and cold drinks. Finally, there is Row-A-Palooza, a rock 'n roll music festival all weekend where you can hear up-and-coming acts and local favorites, while watching thousands of the worlds' best rowers. The Head Of The Charles "Row-A-Palooza" rock-fest runs all weekend, and is located on the 'Cambridge side' of the Weeks Footbridge.