October 19, 2003

BOSTON, Mass.—The William Smith crew team finished 18th overall and seventh of all Division III boats in the Collegiate Division at the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta this past weekend. The Herons improved their standing seven places from a year ago, posting a time of 17:54.308. Queens University garnered the top spot crossing the line in 16:47.321, while the University of Louisville and U.S. Coast Guard Academy took second and third places, respectively.

Racing in chilly and damp racing conditions battled through a tough three mile head style race that featured challenging hair pin turns, and tight squeezes through arches. Combine the difficult course and a poorly controlled starting chute and you have a recipe for some problems during the race.

Sent off bow to stern in small clumps, packs of four to five boats hit the Weeks Bridge at the same time just after the one-mile mark. Caught in one of these clusters, the Herons fought for good position going under the most challenging bridge and through the most dangerous turn on the course. As the William Smith boat pulled through it was cut off by another boat causing a collision with the Herons. As the impeding crew ran over the two seat’s oar, her blade became stuck, forcing William Smith to stop until they cleared the crab. The crew recovered quickly and was able to regain its rhythm and increase its aggressiveness to hold off an overtaking crew at the end.

“I am so pleased that we were able to handle this situation well,” said Head Coach Sandra Chu. “Of course, I would love to see what our time could be without having any impediments, but the Charles is notorious for this kind of condition. I don’t think we’ve put together the perfect race yet this fall, but at the same time, this is encouraging to me as a coach. We still have a lot of speed to capitalize upon.”

From cox to bow, the Varsity 8+ was powered by first-year Jess Hardy (Shrewsbury/Shrewsbury, Mass.), senior Elisabeth Weick (Fairport/Fairport, N.Y.), senior Julie Deprez (The Bancroft School/Paxton, Mass.), sophomore Rebecca Gutwin (Champlain Valley Union/Williston, Vt.), first-year Laura Batchelor (Brookline/Brookline, Mass.), sophomore Cassie Priest (King & Low-Heywood Thomas School/Stamford,Conn.), senior Lauren Ulvestad (Breck School/Shorewood, Minn.), sophomore Edwina Wilson (Churchill/Bethesda, Md.) and senior Colleen Franz (Nichols School/Derby, N.Y.).

The Herons return to action on Oct. 25, at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Novice team will debut on Oct. 26, at the Wylie E. Coyote Chase in Rochester, N.Y.

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