Boilermakers win first race at Women's Henley Regatta in dominant fashion despite heavy rain and wind.
Henley-on-Thames — Confusion rang out in the starters’ tent of the Women’s Henley Regatta.
“Racing will be suspended!” shouted one official.
He raised his voice over the noise of driving rain and howling winds. To his left, the River Thames began to kick up.
“But Race 10 is already in the starting block,” another official responded. “That race should be sent!”
Race 10 featured the Purdue women’s varsity eight and Tyne Rowing Club of Newcastle, England. Pounded by the wind and rain, the women of Purdue had no idea of the deliberation occurring in the tent. Their faces were tied in knots.
An official brought her hand up to her ear piece. The voice on the other end was coming from the regatta’s command center. The official raised her eyes and delivered the news.
“OK,” she hollered, “We’re sending Race 10.”
Just like that, Purdue embarked on its journey toward the Sports Council Cup under charcoal gray skies at the Women’s Henley. Instead of having their race suspended, the Boilermakers rolled in dominant fashion.
They already led by open water as Temple Island passed by on their right at the 200-meter mark. That lead would only grow. The only thing that could have derailed the crew was disaster, but it never came. Junior Kaitlyn Egan had the onerous duty of coxing through conditions that would deter Captain Ahab, but did so masterfully. The crew of Samantha Warner (Sr., bow), Amanda Elmore (So., 2 seat), Emily Rhiver (So., 3 seat), Rachel Young (Sr., 4 seat), Molly Powers (So., 5 seat), Maggie Busse (So., 6 seat), Louisa Mattingly (Sr., 7 seat), Ellen Rohlfing (Sr., stroke) followed Egan’s lead and powered through the many elements at play.
“It started pouring before the race. My main concern was the rowers getting cold and tightening up. Once the race began, everyone focused on rowing cleanly through the adverse conditions. All the rowers faired well, given the situation, and allowed me to steer a straight course.”
By the time Purdue rolled through the finish line, the rain relented and the wind waned. A three-length win was all that was left. The sun did its best to peak through the clouds to illuminate the victory but never quite made it.
Just another day in England.
“It was a great race considering it was our first time at that distance (1,500 meters) and we reached a high stroke rating (36),” Samantha Warner said. “We jumped off the start quickly and were able to push away from Tyne the rest of the race.”
Purdue will now face Queens University (Belfast) on Saturday at 9:55 am (4:55 am EST) in the quarterfinals. The winner will advance to the Senior Eight semifinals (2:49 pm) on Sunday. Despite the conditions today, invaluable lessons were learned.
“As opposed to other races we realized how much cardio was involved with the different distance and a different stroke rating,” Rachel Young said. “I’d compare it to 400-meter race versus a mile in track. Now, going into tomorrow’s race we’ll be prepared for the different challenges that we know we’ll face.”
Tomorrow’s forecast in Henley calls for partly cloudy skies with some scattered showers in the morning and possibly some thunderstorms in the afternoon. The temps will top-out in the mid-60s.
No comments:
Post a Comment