The Mercer Juniors and Masters competed in the 52nd Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA this past weekend. One of the most prestigious races of the fall season, crews race against the clock and each other over a curvy 3 mile course. The regatta draws 2,256 crews representing 820 teams.
The Masters raced in the Men’s 40+ Four and finished 18th out of 23 entries. Rowers Miles Truesdell, Charles Gilbert, Michael Vaccaro, David Potts and coxswain Sarah Brune finished the 3 mile race with a time of 20:47.4. The Masters Women raced in the 50+ Four and finished 21st out of 42 which qualifies the boat for a guaranteed entry next year. This is the first time a Mercer Masters boat has received an automatic qualification! Huge congratulations to rowers Kristin Appelget, Sharon Waters, Cheryl Baldino, Terri Gruber McDonough and coxswain Lulu Herman. (A boat can qualify for the next year by placing in the top half of the field.)
The Juniors had mixed results given the high expectations leading into the race. On the boys’ side, the 8 placed 35th out of 84 entries which qualifies the boat for next year’s regatta, however was not the result that the crew and Coach Justin Ochal were hoping for. There was a very stiff headwind on the course which created tough racing conditions for the crew of Drew Hickey, Julius Ferenc, Jack Gallagher, Carter Levine, Chris Silva, Rex Berger, Enzo Couillens, Dan Stoddard, and coxswain Kate Takacs who finished in a time of 17:14.3.
The Junior Girls had two 8’s racing placing 13th and 37th out of 85 entries which qualifies both boats for next year. In addition, the ‘B’ boat had the second best performance for B boats finishing just .4 seconds behind CRI’s B boat. The ‘A’ boat of Katie Lustig, Celia Varga, Laila Shehab, Katryna Niva, Kieran Wild, Catie Vinch-Buck, Sara Hansen, Mia Barkenbush and coxswain Caroline Galati finished the race in a time of 18:28.5. The ‘B’ boat of Sheila Kennedy-Moore, Bridget Parker, Ciara DeVenuto-Wyeth, Sarah Closser, Emmanuelle Adamson, Erin Heyeck, Gwyneth Lavery, Julia Berdzik and coxswain Lauren Preston finished the race in a time of 19:21.8.
Mercer Junior alumni rowers also performed well at the Head of the Charles. Geena Fram rowing for Brown University finished first in the Women’s Club 8+. Eileen Hu’s MIT boat claimed third in the Women’s Lightweight 4 just edging out former Mercer team mate, Elise Gorberg’s Boston University crew which claimed fourth place.
Other Mercer Junior Alumni rowers included Laura Foster, Michigan 10th in the Women’s Championship 8+; Aaron Goodman, Northeastern 12th in the Men’s Championship 8+; Kelly Fischer, Notre Dame 10th in Women’s Championship 4+; Colleen Gillis, University of Miami 16th in the Women’s Championship 4+ Tom Walker, Wisconsin 11th in the Championship 4+, Katie Sessa, MIT 11th Men’s Lightweight 8+; Jack Gleim, Marietta 8th in the Men’s Collegiate 4+; Dan Gleim, Jacksonville 21st in the Men’s Collegiate 4+; and Glorianna Perrotte, University of Miami 20th in the Women’s Club 4+.
Full results can be found here for all races.
Next up for Mercer Rowing will be Head of the Schuylkill this weekend, October 29-30, for the Masters and Novices, and the Frostbite and Braxton Regattas on November 12-13 for Varsity, Novice and Masters. The Head of the Halloween will take place on Mercer Lake this Saturday, October 29 for all varsity rowers as well as novice rowers who are not competing at Head of the Schuylkill.