 Maidenhead entered three eights into the Women's Head of the River, held on Saturday 11th March. This famous 4¼ mile event, held on the River Thames between Chiswick and Putney, attracts the top crews from all over the UK and Europe.
The 'A' crew comprised Natalie Trinder, Sarah Archibald, Louise Entwistle, Keri Johnson, Anne van Diem, Laura Lion, Ally Brooks, Caris Marsh and cox Owen Davies. The crew was a combination of the top 5 senior women and the top 3 junior women - who had all rowed the course at the Schools' Head just two days previously. Two last minute substitutions (Laura Lion for Christele Blin and Caris Marsh for Vicky Sims - both due to illness) could have rocked the confidence of the crew, but they responded magnificently with a gutsy performance. (Picture from www.naturesimages.co.uk)
Starting at 130 out of 265 crews, the Maidenhead 'A' boat stormed through the field ahead of them, overtaking a total of 12 crews, one of which they clashed blades with, to finish in 36th place overall and 14th out of 34 in the Senior 2 category in a time of 20min 54s.
In the Senior 3 category, the Maidenhead 'B' crew of Vicky Sprules, Jo Wright, Caroline Dakers, Clare Wallace, Katherine Chapman, Hayley Wildmore, Debbie Thomas, Helen Stewart and cox Josh Hetherington finished in a creditable 116th place overall, 38th out of 62 in their category and in a time of 22min 6s.
The least experienced Maidenhead 'C' crew of Anne Rees, Louisa Sutherland-Spiller, Jo Macbeth, Nikki Reeves, Hannah Chatham, Jo Gower, Anna McIntyre, Kay Fullick and Lizzie Gerrard (cox) in the Senior 4 category finished in 154th position overall and a respectable 31st out of 62 in their category in 22min 37s.
These results represented a huge leap forward for the women's squad which is clearly showing the benefit of the new training regime lead by coaches Eric Sims and Bob Wilson, as well as the demonstrating the strength of juniors coming through into senior ranks. |
