One of Virginia's most successful athletic programs is at it again. The women's rowing team - a perennial national title contender - kicked off its fall campaign with a win at the Head of the Charles Sunday.
The Cavaliers captured the championship eights title while also finishing runner-up in the championship fours. Virginia's second eight also finished ninth, ahead of many of the top boats from other schools.
Although the rowing team competes primarily in the spring, the Cavaliers entered three races during the fall season, giving them a chance to gauge their progress since the NCAA Championships last May. After a sixth-place overall performance at NCAAs, the team appears have made strides toward improving upon that mark next year.
"We're really pleased with the win," coach Kevin Sauer said. "We're showing some [positive] things on the rowing machines in training. We're building some good strength and good toughness. Hopefully it bodes well for the spring."
Virginia's winning time of 16:11.52 in the championship eight race outpaced second-place Radcliffe Crew - one of the post-collegiate squads mixed into the 37-crew field - by eight seconds. The Cavaliers' second eight, which sophomore Sarah Jordan coxswained, posted a time of 16:45.55.
In the championship fours, junior coxswain Molly Frear and the Virginia boat started fourth and passed two teams in front of them en route to a finishing time of 18:34.40, 13 seconds shy of Vesper Boat Club's first place performance.
The Head of the Charles featured several of the nation's elite rowing teams, including Yale, which finished fourth at the 2011 national championship. A head race is a unique format similar to a time trial stage of the Tour de France in which teams start 10 to 15 seconds after the boat in front of them and race against the clock.
Virginia's first eight crew was the second team to go off and quickly closed the gap on the Princeton squad ahead of it. Sauer excitedly watched the Cavaliers gain ground from his bike as he rode along the edge of the Charles River.
"I thought we were doing well because I was getting the splits to compare with last year, but we didn't expect to pass [Princeton]," he said. "I told the team, 'If you even close on them, you'll do well.'"\nSenior coxswain Sidney Thorsten navigated the notoriously difficult course adeptly for the top boat, avoiding collisions as they passed under bridges and made numerous turns along the 5,000-meter course. Thorsten also allowed her team to pick up valuable time by taking the tightest line possible around each bend.
"The Head of the Charles is such an exhilarating and fun experience as a coxswain," she said. "I love the feeling of just being able to tell the girls to shut everything out, stay internal, pull their hearts out, and let me worry about the rest."
The Cavaliers also benefitted from a show of sportsmanship by their Princeton counterparts as the Virginia boat passed by.
"We had an inside line and they yielded to us to help us out," Sauer said. "That's the rule, but sometimes [teams don't obey]. That allowed us to make an immediate turn right after that to get the inside of the last turn too."
Next Sunday, the Cavaliers will compete in the Princeton Chase. While they gear up for a tough rematch with the Tigers on Princeton's home course, the Cavaliers will savor last week's triumph.
"[Winning the Head of the Charles] has been a dream of mine for as long as I have been a part of rowing," Thorsten said. "I remember traveling to the Head of the Charles in high school ... and just hoping to one day be able to be a part of that race. Just being a competitor in the race is such a humbling experience. Being able to further that dream and actually win is the most exciting way to end my coxing career at the Head of the Charles for Virginia"
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