George Washington University Athletics
GW Men's Rowing Makes Henley Royal Regatta Debut
6/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Rowing
Official Results | A4 Replay: George Washington vs. Cambridge & Goldie | B4 Replay: George Washington vs. De Amstel & Proteus
HENLEY-ON-THAMES - The George Washington men's rowing team made its competitive debut at the 2016 Henley Royal Regatta with the Colonials splitting a pair of races in the Visitors' Challenge Cup.
GW's A4 scored a two-length victory over Cambridge University & Goldie Boat Club in the first race of the day. The two boats were even through the first 100 meters of the race before the Colonials nudged ahead. GW held an advantage of two seconds at the barrier (2,089 feet into the course) and extended the lead to 3.24 seconds at the fawley (3,435 feet). GW then pulled ahead by two boat lengths to win by a margin of 7.11 seconds.
"The A Boat had a really nice row," said Head Coach Mark Davis. "They were a little nervous with their first-ever race here at Henley and there is a lot of weight on their shoulders with being the first GW boat to ever compete at an event that has such history and prestige. We knew the Cambridge boat would be a strong boat and we also knew that if we raced well, we can go pretty fast. They kept it internal and really just focused on their speed. At the start, Cambridge was up a little bit, but not by much, and we kept the rate up a little bit higher to establish a lead and once we did, we brought it down slightly but still just a little bit higher. We wanted to be aggressive at the beginning of the race, establish a lead and once we did that they fell into a good rhythm and then they were able to extend on that lead for the rest of the race. So it was a well-executed race plan and it worked out well for them. They had a good course, which is steered by the stroke man Brendan Keegans. He did a nice job keeping it on line."
The A4 advances to face Thames Rowing Club, three-quarter length winners over Leander Club and Oxford Brookes University, on Friday. Official race times will be released at the conclusion of today's racing.
GW's second race of the day saw the B4 fall by 4.5 lengths to De Amstel & Proteu-Eretes.
"The B Boat had a good row but had a very tough opponent, which was comprised of members of the Dutch National Team that did not make an Olympic boat," said Coach Davis. "That boat had much more experience and a higher level of rowing than what we had in our boat with 18-22 year olds. They rowed well and got to perform. They were happy to be here, survive the qualifier and enjoy the experience.
"Overall it was a great day for George Washington rowing. Now it is time for the A4 to rest up and get ready for tomorrow's race with the Thames Rowing Club."
Lineups
A4
Bow: Ben Delaney
2: Joe Gorman
3 Jonathan Ghaul
Stroke: Brendan Keegans
B4
Bow: Jordan Tewksbury-Volpe
2: Bob Hobert
3: Hugh Tribe
Stroke: Maddux Castle
Players Mentioned
