Women’s Rowing competes in their first Head of the Charles Regatta in program history

David Pepin

Sports Editor

The Assumption women’s rowing Varsity 8 competed in their first ever Head of the Charles Regatta on October 21, placing 26th in the women’s collegiate 8’s event.

The boat comprised of Hannah Avard, Karolina Dzieminski, MaryHope Gardner, Lily Vartanian, Michelle Byrnes, Julianna Woods, Tara LePage and Abby Boyko, led by coxswain Katie Danieli finished with a time of 21:53.6, beating out Texas and High Point University in some harsh conditions that featured high winds and a fast current.

The Bates College women’s Varsity 8 took first place in the event with an overall time of 18:18.054.

Head Coach Aline Seekins, in an interview with Assumption Athletics, said she is “very proud with how well the boat represented Assumption College Rowing at the 54th Head of the Charles Regatta.”

The Head of the Charles, first organized in 1965 by Cambridge Boat Club members, is the largest two-day regatta in the world, attracting around 225,000 people to the Greater Boston area each year according to the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.The historic race features over 11,000 of the highest level athletes in the sport of rowing every year and it is one of the most prestigious competitions held every year in Boston.

The Head of the Charles has been the Assumption women’s rowing team’s third of four races this fall season, previously, they raced in the Head of the Riverfront Regatta in Hartford, Connecticut, placing 10th out of 19 boats, and the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta, with the Varsity 4 boat placing 15th, the Varsity 8 placing 9th and the Novice 8 placing 11th in their respective races.

The Assumption women’s rowing team concluded their fall season this Saturday with a race vs Clark.

So what’s next for the Hound’s women’s rowing team?

They look forward to their spring season and begin to start training for their upcoming races in warmer weather.

This has been a successful fall season for the Hound’s women’s rowing team, capped off by their participation in one of the biggest competitions in the rowing world.