The weekend saw some gutsy and impressive racing from the UL girls at Henley Womens Regatta. Racing started on the Friday with a number of our athletes having to qualify through the time trials. Ruth Carpenter, Emily Gade in singles and the double of Aimee Broadbent and Therese Coen qualified with ease. Cat Stenhouse and Hermione Tuck where not so lucky in the senior double and just missed out. These girls are newer to UL and with more time at the club, they will improve exponentially to be key athletes to the club in the future. Ruth Carpenter’s first race in the senior single was unfortunate to be against one of the firm favorites in the event. Ruth was knocked out in a course record so can be happy that she pushed the Leeds sculler in a heat that was significantly faster than any others. Emily Gade eased through her first round in the Senior Lightweight single in true Emily style after recovering from a crab.
On the Saturday the Elite lightweight double of Beci Humphreys and Orla Hayes had a tough race with U23 World Championship scullers from Reading University. Orla and Beci, with only a handful of sessions in their combination showed they have improved dramatically over the week and pushed the Reading double the whole way to a course record. Reading were very impressive throughout the weekend and went on to win the event. The weekend also ended for the senior double of Aimee and Therese who were beaten by a strong Mortlake double. These girls will look to step forward now with Nat Champs and into next season. Emily Gade and Kat Copeland eased through their races in style in the Senior and Elite Lightweight singles respectively drawing many compliments from spectators on the bank.
Both Emily and Kat continued their fine form in the semi-finals without any problems with some very fast racing times. Emily made it look so easy in the Senior Lightweight single and Kat putting down a very impressive time of 5.49. Kat faced some much tougher competition in the final and it was a battle the entire length of the course. Unfortunately Kat was just pipped on the line after one of the most exciting races of the day. Kat now moves onto bigger things, racing in a GB lw2x in Amsterdam next week as she moves forward to the U23 World Championships. Now everything was down to Emily to bring home the UL win, which yet again she did without a bother against former UL athlete Caroline Greves. Emily laid down a course record and looked composed and in control throughout. This has continued UL’s impressive string of Henley Women’s wins year on year.
Some of our girls move on now to Henley Royal Qualifiers in a composite eight next week, whilst others turn their attention to International pursuits. Congratulations must be said to Emily Gade, not just for her win at the weekend but for gaining selection to attend the USA senior lightweights quad camp in July. After only two seasons of rowing this is not an easy feat but with her commitment and toughness we can be confident she will fulfill her ambitions and wish her all the best.
Author Beci Humphreys Women's Captain |
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