CREW Hoyas Compete in Boston Regatta By Erin Reilly Hoya Staff Writer

Three hundred thousand spectators gathered on the banks and bridges of the Charles River in Boston this weekend for the XXXVII Head of the Charles Regatta. 6,200 rowers competed in “America’s Fall Rowing Festival,” including seven Georgetown varsity boats, two of which turned in impressive finishes – the women’s lightweight four and the youth men’s four both placed in the top 10 in their divisions. However, five Georgetown boats finished in the bottom half of their division.

The competitors and spectators alike could not have asked for a better weekend on which to have this event. Vendors lined the riverbanks and cheering spectators filled every bridge while the rowers contended with a bit of wind and choppy water, but an ideal temperature.

“The wind in the tidal basin was unbelievable,” sophomore Justine Landegger said. “We didn’t get in one good stroke in warm up, but it all came together during the race.”

The Georgetown women’s crew brought two boats up to Boston and raced in the champ eight women’s division as well as the lightweight four women’s division.

The champ women’s eight placed 34th out of 53 boats and finished three seconds behind cross-town rival George Washington with a time of 17:45.849. The Hoyas finished just ahead of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the U.S. Military Academy and Radcliffe.

The lightweight women’s four also raced as “Hoya Boat Club” and placed sixth of 16, finishing just ahead of the University of California San Diego and Radcliffe.

Landegger noted that the women were not disappointed with their performance and are confident, as this was one of the strongest showings they have made in a while.

The men’s lightweight four crossed the finish line 18:17.960 minutes after they began the race to place 17th out of 23. The men’s lightweight eight raced as “Hoya Boat Club” and finished 13th out of 20 with a time of 15:38.250. Princeton placed sixth in that division with Yale University taking first place.

Last spring the Hoya lightweight men’s crew was ranked in the top five in the nation, defeating Princeton for the first time ever and coming within five seconds of defeating Yale on its home course in Connecticut.

The heavyweight men raced a champ four and a champ eight. In the champ eight division, the Hoyas placed 27th out of 40 with a time of 15:20.789, putting them just ahead of Marist and Rutgers. However, their rivals Wisconsin, Harvard and Princeton all finished in the top 10. The champ four boat finished 23rd out of 29, defeating cross-town rival George Washington by over a minute, but once again, Yale and Princeton finished in the top 10 and Wisconsin placed 11th.

The team had mixed reactions about its performance this past weekend, but is looking forward to a strong race this weekend in Princeton.

The fifth boat competing for the Georgetown men was a four composed of four of the more experienced freshmen rowers. Their boat placed eighth out of 31 in the youth four men’s division. They finished behind first place Princeton and third place Yale and competed against other high school and college clubs.

The attendance and magnitude of this event is unmatched in the U.S. as far as rowing is concerned.

“There were people on every bridge cheering for Georgetown, and you have no idea who they are,” Landegger said.

The Hoyas will compete again next weekend at the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia, Penn. on Saturday and the Princeton Three Mile Chase in Princeton, N.J., on Sunday.