The Girls Eight Wins the Peabody Cup at Henley Women's Regatta
Crew awaits the start of the awards ceremony: (l to r) Jennifer DiPietro '14, Kerrick Edwards '14, Cory Johnson '13, Catherine Closmore '12, Mary Reichenbach '12, Coach Sally Morris, Cassian Corey '12, Forrest Barker '13, Emily Ball '13, Millicent Dethy '14, Jessica Michaels '14. Photo courtesy John Reichenbach '76; P'12.
June 28, 2012
In what everyone is describing as a spectacular final race against Mount Saint Joseph Academy (Flourtown, PA), Exeter's girls eight won the Peabody Cup with a lead of just 2 feet, the estimated equivalent of less than a quarter of a second. The finish was so close that observers in the launch boat could not be sure which team had won. This victory marks the 1st win for an Exeter crew at Henley.
Exeter's strong team included only 3 seniors, making it a relatively young team in comparison to their competitors at the Henley Women's Regatta. The Henley Girls Eight was comprised of:
Cory Johnson '13, bow
Cassian Corey '12, 2 seat
Emily Ball '13, 3 seat
Forrest Barker '13, 4 seat
Catherine Closmore '12, 5 seat
Kerrick Edwards '14, 6 seat
Jennifer DiPietro '14, 7 seat
Mary Reichenbach '12, stroke
Jessica Michaels '14, cox
Millicent "Millie" Dethy '14, spare
Sally Morris, coach
Prior to the final, Exeter's J8+ crew took on U.K. National Schools' Regatta champion Headington School Oxford (Oxford, England) for the semifinal, beating them by 2 boat lengths. Exeter's scheduled heat against Pangbourne College (Reading, England) was canceled by Pangbourne due to the dangerous weather conditions. Spare Millie Dethy captured a video of the final race while riding in the umpire's launch.
Thomas E. Weil, an ex-Yale lightweight rower and Henley competitor, followed Exeter's final Henley race from the umpire's launch as well. In a colorful essay about the race entitled "A Memorable Race at Henley Women's Regatta," Weil writes: "Stroke for stroke, the two crews surged up the Thames in cadence, each throwing down its best, neither able to break the other. Side by side, head to head, bow ball to bow ball, they raced 1,500 meters together to the finish." Read the full essay…
Read ExeterCrew.com's story on the Henley Women's Regatta…
The Peabody Cup caps a year of excellence for Exeter girls crew. At the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championships in May, the girls 1st boat took silver, with the 2nd and 3rd boats gaining gold. Together the 3 boats won the NEIRA Points Trophy for highest point total. Throughout the spring competing season, the G2, G3, G4, G5 and G6 boats were undefeated, with G1 losing only twice against St. Paul's School (Concord, NH).
It's been 5 years since Exeter's girls crew raced at Henley Women's Regatta. Read more about their last time on the Thames…
A few days after the Exeter girls' win, the boys crew traveled to the Henley Royal Regatta where they raced against Eton College (Windsor, England) in contention for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup (JM8+). Exeter boys lost a hard-fought race against Eton by 3 lengths.
Interested in learning more?
Read about Exeter girls crew…
Learn more about Exeter boys crew …
— Nicole Pellaton
