This past weekend, Clemson’s club rowing team sent a women’s collegiate 4+ boat and a men’s club 4+ boat to the largest two-day rowing event in the nation on the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Tigers’ women’s boat performed exceptionally well this weekend. Coached by Adam Bruce, they closely beat out Carleton’s ‘A’ boat by just three tenths of a second to place third among the 38 women’s collegiate 4+ in the event. Their excellent finish won the team a bronze medal that they are extremely proud to bring back home.
On the water, Sophia DeMan was stroking with Sami Rickheim, Callie Reed and Mary Gurrieri in behind her. Chloe Crownover was the coxswain of this medal-placing boat with an impressive time of 19:54.44, which was only 15 seconds behind the first place time of Vanderbilt ‘A’ of 19:39.08.
Clemson crew’s men’s 4+ boat, coached by Jack Newell, raced on Saturday with athletes Carson Davis stroking the boat, Garrison Frazier, Christian Shaffer, and Seth Early rounding out the rowers at the one seat. Siraj Amin led the rowers as he coxed the men’s boat to a solid time of 17:38.244. They earned a solid 30th place out of the 53 boats racing in the event.
The Head of the Charles Regatta has been around for decades, with the first Regatta held back in 1965 by members of the Cambridge Boat Club. The Regatta is considered a head race, or a three-miler, along the Charles River, where boats compete against each other for the best time.
All different kinds of athletes every year, from senior rowers to the top clubs, universities and colleges, come together to showcase their skill and love for the sport to keep the tradition of this regatta alive, along with the help of 1,700 volunteers to continue the success of the Head of the Charles for many years to come.
Both boats and the rest of the team look to improve overall, with two regattas left on the schedule. In back-to-back week matchups, the team will first travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Nov. 4 for the Fall at the Head of the Hooch Regatta, and on Nov. 11, will head to Augusta, Georgia, to compete in the Head of the South Regatta.
