The Fordham women’s rowing team traveled to Cambridge, Mass. this past weekend, Oct. 16-17, to participate in the 51st Head of the Charles Regatta. The race was 4,800 meters with three checkpoints at Riverside Boat Club, Weld Boathouse and Cambridge Boat Club before the finish line. The team had three entries and, although the team didn’t walk away with any medals, it had a strong performance across the board.
The Rams’ first race was with the women’s club four, with the boat consisting of freshman coxswain Nicollette Curran, sophomore Kristen Shuman, sophomore Jessica Kammen, sophomore Katie Dillon and junior Kara Ramsey. While it was in 20th at the final checkpoint, the team members rallied over the last stretch and finished 16th.
The next boat competing for Fordham was the women’s club eight with a boat consisting of coxswain junior Jacquelyn Ramos, junior Kerry Egan, sophomore Caroline Hamann, senior Jessica LaJoie, freshman Cynthia Luz, senior Ashley Hawkesworth, senior Fiona Murtagh, freshman Erin Parker and junior Maura O’Donnell. The Rams set out 37th on the day because this was the first year the Rams had a bid for the women’s eights. At the Riverside checkpoint, with a time of 4:17.320, the Rams were projected to finish 12th. The boat was able to make up a few places at the next checkpoint, Weld, with a time of 9:50.636 and a projected finish in 10th. The Rams then picked up the pace at the final checkpoint and, with a time of 14.44.107, were projected to finish third. By the end of the race the Rams had a time of 17:36.828, which was good enough for fifth out of 38 boats. Kerry Egan, the bow seat of the women’s eight, was pleased with the boat’s strong finish.
“After going through Elliots Bridge and hearing all the Fordham cheers from everyone who had come to the race, we were really motivated to give that last burst of energy in the final sprint,” Egan said.
The winner of the club eights was Brown University with a time of 17:09.583.
The final women’s boat competing for the weekend was the lightweight four on Sunday afternoon. The boat consisted of senior coxswain Rebecca Aviles, freshman Bridget Kayes, sophomore Catherine Napoli, sophomore Holly O’Reilly and junior Leslie Fung. The Rams started second on the day because of their strong performance last year. By the first checkpoint at Riverside Boat Club had a time of 4:51.424, which projected them to finish sixth. The Rams climbed two places by the second checkpoint with a time of 11:11.620. By the final checkpoint, the Rams had a time of 16:53.556. The Rams finished fifth out of 15 teams with a time of 20:07.674. The winner of the race was Riverside with a time of 19:23.121.
The Rams next regatta is the Head of the Schuykill on Oct. 24.
