WVU Competes at Head of the Schuylkill

Saturday, October 27

Philadelphia, Pa.

8:00 A.M.

West Virginia University

Head of the Schuylkill (Varsity)

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

October 27, 2018 08:16 PM | Rowing

By: Tanner Cain

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rowing team raced in the Head of the Schuylkill regatta, on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Oct. 27.

Head of the Schuylkill Results

"We identified things we're doing well and things that definitely need improvement, and if we purposely work on making those improvements, better results will follow," said coach Jimmy King.
WVU staged at the Three Angels Statues Festival Area on the Schuylkill River. The Mountaineers began the day with four boats competing in the Women's Championship Fours.

Out of 43 entrants, three of the four Mountaineer boats would place in the top 15.

In the Women's Championship Fours, WVU's "A" boat recorded the varsity squad's best result, finishing the race in 15:36.831 for fourth place. The "A" boat would finish behind two boats from Penn and one from the Potomac Boat Club.

Finishing within seconds of each other, West Virginia's "C" boat posted a time of 16:11.463 to take 12th place, while the "B" boat finished the race in 16:19.435 to capture 15th.

Capping WVU's showing in the Women's Championship Fours, the "D" boat finished the race in 16:59.991 to claim 27th.

"Our primary focus today was to be aggressive in our racing, and our crews did that for the most part," said King. "I thought our fours raced quite well in the challenging morning conditions, but there was too much spread in time among those line-ups based on what we've been doing at home."

West Virginia then finished the day with two boats racing in the Women's Championship Eights.

In the Women's Championship Eights, the Mountaineers' "A" boat posted a time of 14:09.185 to finish in 10th place out of 20 entries. WVU's "B" boat would finish the race in 14:37.195 to claim 17th place.

"The eights' results were a little disappointing, but I'm not at all disappointed in the efforts of our crews," said King. "As with the fours, we wanted to race aggressively, but some of our efforts were a bit misplaced in a technical sense."

A full list of Saturday's results and lineups (listed from bow to stroke, then coxswain) can be seen below.

Race Results

First Session (Women's Championship Fours)

Women's 4-A: Jessica Woy, Alexis Brown, Hannah Simmerly, Carly Ledbetter and coxswain Kaitlin Sullivan

Results: 15:36.831 (4th)

Women's 4-B: Louise Daenekindt, Janae Hurst, Lize Morris, Madisyn Lee and coxswain Dana Bishop

Results: 16:19.435 (15th)

Women's 4-C: Cassia Busch, Alissa Johnson, Payton Rea, Amber Drysdale and coxswain Olivia Martinelli

Results: 16:11.463 (12th)

Women's 4-D: Emma Toy, Allyson George, Kileigh Lade, Margaret Heflin and coxswain Morgan McCoy

Results: 16:59.991 (27th)

Second Session (Women's Championship Eights)

Women's 8-A: Jessica Woy, Alexis Brown, Madisyn Lee, Cassia Busch, Janae Hurst, Lize Morris, Hannah Simmerly, Carly Ledbetter and coxswain Kaitlin Sullivan

Results: 14:09.185 (10th)

Women's 8-B: Louise Daenekindt, Amber Drysdale, Alissa Johnson, Emma Toy, Payton Rea, Kileigh Lade, Jordan Wittmaack, Katherine McMullen and coxswain Gabrielle Boylan

Results: 14:37.195 (17th)

Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will compete on Saturday, Nov. 3, when the novice squad travels to Fairfax Station, Virginia, to compete at the Head of the Occoquan. WVU's varsity squad also will compete on Friday, Nov. 9, when they play host to Duquesne in Morgantown for a team scrimmage on the Monongahela River.

Keep up with West Virginia rowing on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by following @WVUrowing