10/23/2003

BOSTON — Georgetown women’s crew competed in the Lightweight 4, Lightweight 8, and Championship 8 events on Sunday, October 19, in the 39^th running of the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass.  Amid chilly temperatures and intermittent showers, the Georgetown crews raced against not only other collegiate crews, but also against club crews, international clubs, and national teams, several of which set course records in the favorable racing conditions.

The most notable Georgetown performance of the day was by the Light 8, which raced as the Hoya Boat Club.  Starting seventh in the field of fifteen, the Hoyas overtook the Villanova crew that started in the six slot during the first mile of the race, then number five starting Western Rowing Club (University of Western Ontario) during the third mile of the fall classic.  Although the Hoyas kept pace with Eastern Sprints rivals Princeton and Wisconsin through the second time check at Weld boathouse, the Hoyas fell a bit off the pace during the latter stage of the race to finish fifth overall, fourth among colleges. 

The Lightweight 8 champion was Riverside Boat Club (Mass.) defending its title from last year.  The Hoyas secured a guaranteed entry for next year’s Head of the Charles by finishing within five percent of the winning time, thus eliminating the uncertainty of gaining an entry through the lottery system utilized by regatta organizers for the majority of the regatta entries.

Racing in the Championship 8, the top eights event at the regatta, the varsity heavyweight crew was unable to establish the good ratio needed to move their shell efficiently over the three-mile course.  Although the crew started well and settled into the planned 32spm, the ratio was a bit too short to effectively sustain throughout the race.  Despite having missed ten days on the water earlier in the season due to Hurricane Isabel and absent any racing prior to the Charles, the heavyweights held together well when their rowing got a bit ragged during the second mile.  Rather than fall apart, the crew managed to keep their composure and keep the tempo up during the last mile finishing 32^nd of 40 crews. 

While the placing for the varsity heavyweight eight may not appear good, many of the other collegiate crews competed in the Collegiate 8 or Club 8 events this year.  Eastern Sprints rivals Rutgers and Navy finished just ahead of the Hoyas while rivals Miami, Dartmouth, and George Washington placed slightly behind.  The Championship 8 was won by the London Training Center which is the Canadian national team eight that won the bronze medal at the 2003 World Rowing Championships.

Georgetown’s third event of the day for the women was the Light 4.  The Hoya Light 4 got off to a strong start quickly passing the crew starting ahead of them, then settled into a strong rhythm to row a very solid race.  The crew of sophomores placed 11^th of 16, but were 4^th of 8 among the competing collegiate crews.