EVSRA Championships

For only the second time in the history of the program we had a crew medal in one of the top varsity events at the EVSRA regional Championships. In 2012 we had our men's varsity eight take silver. This year our women's varsity four took bronze in a dramatic finish over First Colonial's crew. Below is a photo of the finish (the camera was at one end of the line; the other end of the finish line was the wooden post in the center of the pier.) I note that FC was walking on us but that their three seat turned to look and that may have been the difference in boat speed. Our girls are focused in their boat and not looking at the competition. Well done!

The results:

Again looking at the week-to-week time deltas from the top finishers in each event we're still moving up, in spite of having a week off due to spring break with limited practice time and a couple of our rowers missing and a couple of others being ill.  

MV4    +1:46    +1:03  +0:42   +1:14  +0:30

WV4    +1:13    +1:37  +0:29    +1:09 +0:21

W2V4  +1:32    +0:31  +0:19    -----   +0:50

WV8    +0:40   +0:38  +0:37  -----      -----

Mx8     +2:23    +1:31   -----      +1:13    -----

WN4     ------    +2:22   -----     +4:38   -----

Mx4      ------    -------  +2:06   +4:56  +1:35

W1X     ------    -------  +0:30   +0:00  -----

Videos will be posted soon.

James River Regatta

For our fourth competition of the season we participated in the James River regatta in Midlothian, west of Richmond. The two hour trip required a departure from school at o-dark hundred to make the 7:30 coach's meeting. This regatta saw our first heat win - the WV4+ crew cruisin' to an easy open water win over crews from First Colonial, Cox and River City. The girls then immediately hopped into the stern four seats of the mixed eight and just about pulled off another win, only losing to Granby's crew by a second.

All-in-all it was a successful day. The crews experienced floating starts so times for the 1500 m course are misleading. I suppose the 1500 meter distance is also misleading since rowing against a 1 knot river current meant actually rowing significantly further (~ 1700 m?) 

Some edited videos and the official results are below. Note the time differentials from the first place boat in each event. Again the previous three regattas are the first three columns; this regatta is the last column. Caution should be used when comparing times between heats due to the imprecise course length caused by the floating starts.

MV4    +1:46    +1:03  +0:42   +1:14

WV4    +1:13    +1:37  +0:29    +1:09
W2V4  +1:32    +0:31  +0:19    -----
WV8    +0:40   +0:38  +0:37  -----
Mx8     +2:23    +1:31   -----      +1:13
WN4     ------    +2:22   -----     +4:38
Mx4      ------    -------  +2:06   +4:56
W1X     ------    -------  +0:30   +0:00

The WV4+ won their heat going away but was still significantly slower than the winning time in the other heat.

The MV4+ crew finished last after hanging tough for more than half the race.

The mixed eight crew took second in their heat, one second behind Granby.

After a long day. Thanks to Mr. Schoening for driving the short bus!

Spring II Regatta

WV8 launching as the fog starts to roll in.

WV8 heading down the course to the fog-shrouded start area

WV8 at the finish -- the fog had lifted

Our third regatta of the season was again at Botanical Garden. The weather proved interesting with a swing in the temperature and a steady fog rolling in with a cold frontal passage. We are still looking for our first win of the season. The time deltas, however, continue to decrease. All crews we entered show an improvement when comparing from the previous week the time delta from the fastest boat in their event. Below are the deltas from the season opener, last week's Spring Fling, and then from this regatta. Note we didn't enter the Mx8 or WN4 events this week, but we did field a mixed 4 crew and

 Natalie did race the single.

MV4    +1:46    +1:03  +0:42
WV4    +1:13    +1:37  +0:29
W2V4  +1:32    +0:31  +0:19
WV8    +0:40    +0:38  +0:37
Mx8     +2:23    +1:31   -----
WN4     ------    +2:22   -----
Mx4      ------    -------  +2:06
W1X     ------    -------  +0:30

Natalie's ride into the fog.

Looking elegant even before prom.

WV4 fighting the crew from Cox at the finish. They nipped us by 1.4 seconds.

Videos were shot and I'll be editing them over the next few days.

If anyone has additional photos, send them to me, please. Below are the final results. Note the WV4 crew bested NC's time, albeit in the other heat.

After the racing, many members of the team got cleaned up and made a return appearance to the Garden dressed in their finest.

Our 2014 prom pic

Natalie's other ride.