Women rowers save the day as McGill conquers Queen's
KINGSTON – A last-second victory by the women’s novice four boat proved to be the difference as McGill captured the 14th annual Lorne Gales Challenge Cup rowing regatta on the Cataraqui River in Kingston, Ont., Saturday.
McGill also claimed the Women’s Challenge trophy, winning all five races, including the 500 and 6000-metre heavyweight eight competitions in addition to all three 500m sprints by the novice boat. On the men’s side, the Golden Gaels claimed the Challenge Blade trophy winning four of five races. One point is awarded for each victory and McGill came away with six of the 10 races on the day for a Gales Challenge Cup victory that snapped a five-year losing streak to Queen’s.
The Gaels lead the all-time series 7-6 between the long-time foes since the head-to-head competition was first introduced in 1997. This rivalry is considered to be Canadian equivalent of England's annual Oxford-Cambridge showdown and the yearly Harvard-Yale race in the U.S.
Earlier in the day, McGill had swept a pair of women’s heavyweight eight races, winning the 500m by half a boat and posting a margin of victory of one minute, 36 seconds in the six-kilometre event.
But Queen's evened the score by winning both the men’s heavyweight 500m and 6000m, leaving it up to the novice fours to determine the winning school. The Golden Gaels took two of three sprints to gain the upperhand on the novice men’s side but McGill rallied to win all three women’s novice sprints.
“It was hard to contain our excitement after winning both the head race and the sprint,” said Andrea Wilson, a 22-year-old kinesiology junior from St. Lambert, Que., who occupies the No.7-seat in the eights. “The conditions were very rough, we were rowing into a strong head wind or cross wind for 90 per cent of the race. Despite that, we managed to row strong and maintain our technique with waves crashing over our riggers. We gained the lead one kilometre in and kept pulling away for the remainder. This race meant a lot to us, not only because we wanted to defend our title from last year, but because this will be the last Queen’s-McGill boatrace for seniors Mel Gabana and Jen Allan.”
The weather forced organizers to revamp the novice competition, resulting in a best-of-three sprint instead of the planned 500m sprint and 6000m race.
“It was very windy out there and felt like we were rowing in the sea,” said Sara Magrath, a 22-year old arts junior from Dubai who sits in the stroke seat of the novice four, which won the final sprint by 1.5 boat lengths. “We knew that it was going to come down to the last few strokes but the men’s novice boat was racing at the same time so we didn’t know for sure who had won the competition until they announced it at the awards ceremony.”
The varsity eight was composed of senior Jennifer Allan of Montreal in the bow seat, followed by sophomore Emma Sheehan of St. Catharines, Ont., junior Mara Edelman of Boston, Mass., sophomore Maeve Forster, Oakland, Calif., junior Marina Freytsis of Swampscott, Mass., senior Melanie Gabanna of Montreal, the aforementioned Wilson, and sophomore Marie-Christine Razaire of Montclair, Vt., in the stroke seat. The coxswain was Emily Kinsler, a sophomore from Concord, N.H.
The novice four included freshman Heather Anderson (bow seat) of Saskatoon, followed by sophomore Iris Karry of Montreal, freshman Kelly Murphy of Brockton, Mass., Magrath in the stroke seat and coxie Stephanie Peruzzi, a freshman from Weymouth, Mass.
Lorne Gales Challenge Cup Winners
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2009 - McGill
2008 - Queen's
2007 - Queen's
2006 - Queen's
2005 - Queen's
2004 - Queen's
2003 - McGill
2002 - McGill
2001 - Queen's
2000 - Queen's
1999 - McGill
1998 - McGill
1997 - McGill
Men's Challenge Blade Winners
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2009 - Queen's
2008 - Queen's
2007 - Queen's
2006 - Queen's
2005 - Queen's
2004 - Queen's
2003 - McGill
2002 - McGill
2001 - Queen's
2000 - McGill
1999 - McGill
1998 - McGill
Women's Challenge Trophy Winners
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2009 - McGill
2008 - McGill
2007 - Queen's
2006 - McGill
2005 - Queen's
2004 - Queen's
2003 - Queen's
2002 - Queen's
2001 - Queen's
2000 - Queen's
1999 - McGill
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman Communications Officer Athletics & Recreation McGill University 475 Pine Avenue W., Montreal, QC H2W 1S4 CANADA 514-398-7012 (Tel.) 514-398-1956 (Fax) www.mcgill.ca/athletics