The T.C. Williams frosh women’s eight took second at the Walter Mess Regatta on Saturday, April 6, its women’s second eight took third, and a women’s varsity double won gold at the Occoquan Reserve.
Turtles sunned on branches and a light breeze was blowing as dozens of boats swept by in the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association’s first regatta of the season. Parking was at overflow as usual as hundreds of people arrived to cheer on the rowers.
T.C. Williams fielded 14 boats, a sign of the depth of the T.C. team.
The women’s frosh eight’s second place finish came with a time of 5:50.20. Wakefield had a time of 5:41.9; Washington & Lee was third, with a time of 5:52.13. The frosh eight was coming off a win at the Noxontown Regatta at St. Andrews School, where the number of contenders was smaller and neither Wakefield nor Washington & Lee had competed.
“We were really nervous about facing them,” said coxswain Maddy Glanz. “But we were strong all the way through and all the rowers tried their best, even with Lake Braddock crawling up on us at the end.”
“I’m excited to see if we can crawl up on Wakefield and give them a run for their money,” she added.
Women’s lightweight eight came in fourth, with a time of 5:50.67.
A women’s varsity double with Maggie Coombs and Grace Wilmore took first with a time of 5:58.10, topping doubles from Mount Vernon and Forest Park. It was the first race for the team.
“Going into the race, man, I was scared of a lot,” said Coombs. “We didn’t really know what our competition was like, but when we saw them, they didn’t look too menacing.”
The T.C. Williams 2 eight took third with a time of 5:46.26, behind McLean with a time of 5:39.47. Whitman was first with a time of 5:33.40.
The T.C. Williams men’s 4th eight took fourth, and the men’s first four came in sixth in their races, respectively. T.C. Williams fielded two women’s novice boats. The men’s novice boat was fifth in a field of 15.
Next week, the rowers return to Occoquan for the Darrell Winslow Regatta.