Last weekend the whole team traveled up to Philadelphia for the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta. A passing nor’easter made for some wet and wild conditions, including rain, heavy river flow and gusty winds; we were lucky to get racing in! Despite the rough conditions, the team maintained good spirits and all are hoping for better weather this coming weekend at the Bald Eagle Collegiate Invitational in Indianapolis.
Novice Eights
For many in the Rookie Class, HOSR was the first “big” regatta of their careers. They raced against a field of 22 entries and bested last year’s novices’ times by over a minute, despite racing in the worst of the rain! The A entry finished in 13:27.139 placing 3rd. The B entry finished in 14:10.301, but unfortunately accrued 40 seconds of penalties by missing a few buoys and finished 10th when all was said and done.
Championship Single
Fourth Year Bobby Dubas duked it out against many athletes who are training full time in a field of 37. He survived the brutal conditions and finished in 16:04.633, placing 29th overall.
Club Eights
In a field of 44 entries, including most teams 2Vs and even some smaller program’s 1Vs, Virginia fielded a 3V and a composite boat of varsity rowers and rookies with high school rowing experience. The club eights battled the highest winds of the day and some rather aggressive marshaling.
The 3V finished in 13:07.823 taking home 18th place overall. Amongst just the other 3Vs in the event they placed 4th behind 3 Varsity Programs.
The varsity-novice composite boat held their own in a field that greatly outgunned them, placing 31st and finishing in 13:43.381.
Championship Eights
The 1V and 2V raced in completely new lineups since the Charles, competing in a field of 15. By late in the day when the crews launched the regatta was running behind schedule, but didn’t announce it. Thus boat crews launched and then sat waiting at the start for over 45 minutes as the races ahead of them got underway.
The A entry had a great attitude as a boat, especially for having only practiced once in the lineup, and did a good job of translating that spirit onto the water and finished in 12:44.861 taking 10th place.
The B entry clashed oars with the Chinese Rowing Federation during some maneuvering under Columbia Ave Bridge. They finished in 13:05.123 taking 14th place.
Alumni Eight
A dedicated (crazy?) group of alumni braved the elements to carry the flag of the Charlottesville Postal Workers in Philadelphia. Despite ideas to take a boat photo and then not actually race, they did in fact make it onto the water to compete against 8 other crews. They placed second with a raw time of 13:19.757, but couldn’t compete with UPenn’s age handicap of over a minute and a half, so when all the calculations were final, they took home bronze.
We hope you can join us in Charlottesville for Class Day Races and Alumni Weekend on November 17! More information will be coming soon!