After a very unfortunate draw in Nephthys, Univ were ready to come back with a vengeance for Christ Church Regatta. Out of all of the colleges, Univ entered the most crews into the regatta with 4 men’s boats and 3 women’s boats.

On the first two days, MNA were against two friendly boats (Jesus C and Somerville B), who they beat easily. In round 3, the competition was more serious with them racing against Linacre A, but victory was still theirs with a lead of 2 lengths. Disaster struck in the 4th round when a seat failure caused a momentous crab, bringing the boat to a stop and the race to an end. Despite their initial disappointment, MNA knew that they had done well and are proud to have gotten as far as they did.

MNB had an unlucky initial draw, racing against Christ Church A in the first round. Christ Church beat them easily, but they showed everyone what they are made of when they beat St. John’s B in the repechage by 2 lengths. It was a close race in the second round, but they were unfortunately knocked out of the regatta by St. Hugh’s B, who won by just 1 length.

In the first round, MNC were racing Brasenose B and it was a tight competition. Brasenose crossed the finish line first, but as they had been impeding Univ down the course, the race was appealed, resulting in a win for Univ. They went straight into the third round after drawing a bye in the second. MNC were racing Mansfield A who also crossed into Univ’s lane during the race. Mansfield had been ¼ length ahead at the finish, but Univ once again won on appeal. Their last race however was in the 4th round where they lost to the impressively fast Jesus B boat.

Univ MND (affectionately known as MNCII) were entered as a friendly boat in the competition. In the first round, St Hugh’s B beat them easily, but word of their fierce determination to succeed seems to have filtered though St Hugh’s college. They were supposed to be racing St Hugh’s A in the repechage but the other crew dropped out, meaning that MND enjoyed a row over alongside another crew who had scared away their competitors also. MND were a friendly boat which limits them in the regatta, so there were sadly no more races for them after the row over.

On the women’s side of the boat club, WNA had a very successful week’s racing. In the first round, they beat Lincoln B by 1 length and then proceeded to beat Hertford B easily the next day. In the third round, they were racing Green Templeton B, but due to a strong wind, Univ went into GTC off of the start. Despite the clash, the race continued and Univ finished about 6 lengths ahead. Because of initial collision, Univ were about to be disqualified but GTC asked for a re-row instead. After their admirable show of sportsmanship, GTC sadly hit the bank in the re-row, meaning that Univ won once again and went through to the next round. The winning streak continued through the fourth round where WNA beat Queen’s A until the quarter-finals, where they proceeded to beat Wadham A. It had been a close race up until the boat house where the abundance of supporters cheered them on with a Univ roar, causing them to really pull away from the other crew. This brought them into the semi-finals. Both crews were very well matched and it was a great race with some beautiful rowing, but Univ sadly lost by just a few feet.

WNB started out against St. John’s B which was a friendly crew. Unfortunately, they lost by about 2 lengths, but they still had high spirits as they went into the third round after drawing a bye for the second. They once again put up a valiant fight against Christ Church B but just missed out, losing by 1 length. Despite the result, the girls never once stopped smiling after having rowed better than they ever had before.

On the first day, WNC were racing against Magdalen A with whom they intimidated by keeping pace with until some unfortunate crabs caused them to fall behind. After a bye in the repechage, they were unlucky once again, having drawn LMH A in the second round. WNC continued to push as hard at they could though and chased LMH up the river with brilliantly strong and tidy strokes.

Ciara Burgess
Women's Vice Captain, 2013-14

Posted on Jan 16, 2014

posted under: racingnoviceschrist church

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