Girls Varsity Crew Rows in National Regatta

June 12, 2007

Varsity girls row the Squamscott before heading to national competition in Cincinatti

Girls Varsity Crew—2007 New England Champions—earned an invitation to the 134th USRowing Youth National Championships held on Lake Batavia near Cincinnati, Ohio, June 8-10. Over 1,300 athletes from 140 programs participated in the competitions.

Exeter's G1 boat was one of 19 girls eights to race in three qualifying heats which had been determined by random draw. Coach Sally Morris says, "The girls found themselves competing against bigger programs that row year round as clubs. Only a few schools are fast enough to race at the Nationals."

The Exeter crew was one of the top two finishers in each qualifying heat to advance to the semi-finals. "The pressure began to mount in the semis," explains Morris, "as crews fought their way for a spot in the grand finals. The Exeter girls had to dig a little deeper to maintain their lead. They made an impressive sprint in the final 250 meters of the race to come to a photo finish second place." All of the races are 2,000 meters.

In the finals, according to Morris, "The girls launched with aggressive, confident attitudes, ready to be among the lead boats. Surprisingly, all six boats were even 250 meters into the race. In the final 500 meters, the Exeter girls gave their best effort in an extended sprint that gave them a decisive 1.7 second lead over Everett and landed them in fourth place."

Morris said the girls were pleased to be ranked fourth-fastest junior eight in the country, making them competitive with the larger rowing clubs. Furthermore, she notes, "To spectators on shore, Exeter stood out as one of the leanest crews in the finals, gaining their place through unified, graceful rowing and aggressive spirits rather than brawn."

The Exeter girls crew will be heading to England this week to compete in two regattas, the Reading Amateur Regatta on June 16 and the Henley Women's Regatta on June 22 – 24.

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