Home sweet home for Peterborough City rowers as they secure 20 wins in Spring Regatta at Thorpe Meadows
Peterborough City Rowing Club made home advantage count as they secured 20 winners at their own Spring Regatta at the weekend.
The club claimed 11 wins on Saturday and then a further nine on Sunday, meaning they secured more victories than any other club, winning 20 of the overall 113 events.
It was a well-supported event, with almost 800 entries from more than 65 clubs and schools from across the country.
With a steady tailwind blowing in from the south west, the Thorpe Meadows 1000m course saw a string of impressive performances from City squads at every level.
Three women’s crews got Peterborough off to a strong start during Saturday’s morning session.
Sarah Watson in the women's single sculls beat Royal Holloway University of London by four seconds in a time of four minutes eight seconds, while the quad stroked by women’s club captain Keely Watson, with Claire Widdowson, Gina Gould and Hannah Pape behind her, won women’s quad sculls in a time of 3.31. They beat Furnivall Club from London by three seconds.
The City junior girls squad rowed in the women's open eights (band 2) category, and boasted a guest appearance from mum Linda Dennis. They won the race in a time of 3 mins 30 secs, bettering Furnivall by 10 seconds.The City crew was Emma Calver, Emma Dennis, Linda Dennis, Kaia Campo, Olivia Agyapong, Evelina Xanthropolou, Florence Lillywhite, Charlotte Revell and cox Ericha Knowles-Pardoe.
It was soon the turn of the boys to shine, as City’s Under16 quad scull beat Leeds Rowing Club in a storming time of 3 mins 12 seconds, 15 seconds faster than their nearest competitor. The crew was made up of Billy Hynes, Lewis Barber, Roland Christopher and Charlie Whitty.
Hynes then partnered with Will Wood-Davis for his second win of the day, coming home first in the boys’ U16 double sculls in 3 mins 39 secs, seeing off Bedford Modern School by four seconds.
The girls’ Under 16 double scull of Hannah Fitzjohn and Jasmin Chesher won their final, beating Bedford Rowing Club by five seconds in 3 mins 52 sec, with Chesher winning again later in the day. This time she tasted success in girls’ U16 single sculls, beating Northampton Rowing Club by nine seconds in 4 mins 14 secs.
The girls’ Under 15 coxed quad of Millie Yule, Molly Gilbert, Bea Gregory, Edie Shields and cox Ewan Godley beat Leeds Rowing Club by five seconds in 3 mins 54 secs, before Gregory took her second win of the day. That was in a thrilling final of the girls’ U14 single sculls, beating a strong Notts County sculler by 1.5 seconds in a time of 4 mins 5 secs.
City seventh junior win of a great day came from Joshua Turner and Thor Read Moreira Lima in the boys’ Under 14 double sculls, beating Leeds Rowing Club by 3 seconds in a swift time of 3 mins 39 secs.
The junior squad’s next races will see the Under 14s and Under 15s focusing on their races at the Peterborough City Junior Championships regatta on June 28, while senior members target Women’s Henley from June 20-22.
Peterborough’s fastest crew of the Saturday races, and fastest crew of the day at the regatta, was the senior men's eight racing in Open Eights.
They won the men's open eights in 3 minutes dead, seeing off the University of East Anglia by two seconds. The crew was stroked by men’s club captain Josh Seagrave, and he was joined by James Marshall, Tom Calver, Joe Haracz, Mike King, Dean Gosling, Toby Ray, Chris Elder and coxed by Tracey Rushton-Thorpe.
On Sunday morning, single scullers Ed Jones and Eleanor Dean opened the scoring for City in their competitive finals. Jones scorched down the 1000m course in 3 mins 43 secs, beating Star Club from Bedford by three seconds to win the masters C single sculls, while Dean won the women's single sculls in 4 mins 8 secs, beating Cambridge 99 by six seconds.
Dean later doubled up in the women's coxed four and scored again, beating the University of Birmingham by five seconds in 3 mins 49 secs. Her crew-mates were Bianca Manganiello, Clare Widdowson, Gina Gould and cox Ericha Knowles-Pardoe.
In the women's pair, Bianca Manganiello and Gina Gould won their event by seven seconds, beating Putney Town and the University of Birmingham in a time of 4 mins 3 secs. Gould’s win took her haul for the weekend to three, tying with cox Ericha Knowles-Pardoe as City’s most successful racer.
Keely Watson and Hannah Pape combined in women's masters B/C pairs to win in 4 mins 18 secs, beating Warwick and Barnes Bridge Ladies.
The City junior girls squad, plus mum, repeated its Saturday feat in winning the women’s eights (band 2), in 3 minutes 33 secs. The crew of Emma Calver, Emma Dennis, Linda Dennis, Olivia Agyapong, Anouk Bosma, Charlotte Revell, Florence Lillywhite, Evelina Xanthropolou and cox Ericha Knowles-Pardoe beat University of Leeds and Lea Rowing Club in the final.
The senior men's coxless four won the open fours in style, beating Leeds Rowing Club by six seconds in 3 minutes 16 secs. The crew was Josh Seagrave, Joe Haracz, Mike King and Chris Elder.
Joining Ed Jones as masters squad winners were Ro Knighton and Will Kerry, who won Masters C pairs in a time of 3 mins 45 secs, beating Broxbourne by five seconds.
The composite crew of three City scullers and one from Star Club in Bedford won the masters B/C quad sculls category in 3 mins 17 sec, more than 22 seconds faster than second-placed Furnivall.
The crew was Ian Palmer, Rob Dennis, Chris Callow from Star Club, and Karl Stapleton.
Their winning time set a new record for the event on Peterborough’s 1000m course.