Girls' crew finishes season at Stotesbury Cup Regatta
The girls’ varsity crew team concluded their season in Philadelphia at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. Racing against teams from throughout the East Coast, each of the varsity fours turned in their best performances of the year.
The junior four lined up for their time trial on Friday morning against 57 other crews. Rowing into a sizable headwind, this crew attacked each 500-meter segment of the race. The lineup of Rachel Marsh ‘21, Arabella Dixon ‘21, Skye Jackson ‘21, Isabelle Bechtel ‘20, and Debby Lee ‘21 gained speed throughout the time trial and when the results were posted, this young crew (4 sophomores and 1 junior) placed 28th.
The senior four also raced against 57 other entries in their time trial. Arden Faires ‘19 timed her start perfectly and she had the boat at full speed as they crossed the starting line. The rowers, Juliet Faris ‘19, Sidney Lewis ‘19, Gardiner McGuire ‘19, and Gray Shiverick ‘19 drew the final starting position in the time trial, and thus would not have any boats pushing them from behind. The senior four had a great middle 500 meters and sprinted for 400 meters to capture the final semi-finalist spot (18th place) by 0.6 seconds. This result placed Episcopal 3rd out of the 17 schools racing from Virginia. In addition, the senior four was able to beat two crews that had bested them just six days prior at the Virginia State Championships.
In the semi-finals, the senior four needed a top-two finish to compete in the grand finals. The four got off the starting platform with the field and battled throughout the first 1000 meters. As the boats entered the closing strokes, Episcopal was unable to hold off the Hun School and placed 6th in their semi-final.
