We were well represented by our rowers yesterday at “States.” Five of our seven entries made it to their respective finals … two of our boats earned bronze medals—the women’s quad and women’s junior 4+.
By boat …
– Men’s 1X – Peter; 2nd in the heat; 5th in the final beating Kempsville.
– Men’s 2X – Steve/Chris; 4th in the heat, beating Potomac and Wakefield.
– Men’s LW 4X – Vince/Sam F/Noah/Markus – had to compete open weight, but turned in a good time of 5:40 in the final and have earned the VASRA Lightweight quad slot to compete in the SRAA National Championship Regatta.
– Men’s Junior 4+ – Parker L/Charles/Justin/Hussein/Warner; 4th in their heat beating Hylton.
– Women’s LW 2X – Parker N/Marissa; 2nd in the heat and 4th in the final beating Great Bridge. This was their first race together with Marissa returning from an injury.
– Women’s 4X – Erin/Pasha/Stephanie/Emma; 2nd in the heat and 3rd in the final earning a Virginia State bronze medal. Only the quad winner gets an automatic Nationals bid; however, this boat is eligible to be considered for an open slot and still may get to travel to Ohio.
– Women’s Junior 4+ – Caroline/Mackenzie/Hannah/India/Isabelle; won their heat with the 3rd fastest time of the 15 competing schools. They were at the racecourse start for their final when the storm hit and the rest of the regatta was canceled. VASRA awarded final standings based on heat times, so they earned the bronze medal. VASRA gets more SRAA slots for the junior 4+ so with their bronze these girls have earned a trip to the National Championship Regatta. This is the first time in recent memory that a Stuart boat has medaled in a sweep event.
I’d like to thank the rowers and parents who came out yesterday to support the team. Also our coaching staff for their efforts to prepare the rowers and their equipment, as well as orchestrating launches and recoveries throughout the day.
So at this point we’ll have at least two boats traveling to Ohio for Nationals, hopefully joined by a third.
Click for slideshow at Phanfare.com.
On to Stotes …
This week the coaches will focus on the Stotes entries I sent out last week. We’ll practice Monday/Tuesday and load the trailer on Wednesday. Coach Shand will take the trailer to the Schuylkill River in Philly on Thursday morning. The team will travel to Philly on Thursday (~10:30 am) so as to get on the water for a trip down the course in the afternoon. More details on the regatta can be found at http://stotesburycupregatta.com/. I’ll distribute the final schedule on Wednesday. A Coaches and Coxswains Meeting will take place at 6:00 pm on Thursday in the Finish Line Grandstand. Time trials will start Friday morning.
More later …
Coach Mike
