Oct. 19, 2004
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's crew team begins its fall season this weekend at the Head of Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass. The Aztecs will compete in the collegiate varsity eight event at 12:33 p.m. (EST) on Sunday.
"I am ready to commence the 2004-05 campaign," said head coach Jennifer Zebroski. "The Head of Charles is the perfect race to start the year. It is the largest, most prestigious fall regatta in the world and I am excited that we can be apart of the competition."
The SDSU rowers who will compete this weekend include seniors Alison Abrams (coxswain), Sarah McKillip (seven), Brittany McMahon (six), Ashley Paiko (five), and Kristen Olson (three), junior Audrey Edney (bow) and sophomores Katie Heisinger (two), Mia Lysen (four) and Caitlin Weber (stroke).
The Regatta will feature 50 teams from across the United States, along with three Canadian schools (McGill University, Queen's University and Trent University). SDSU will compete as bow #34, next to St. Joseph's University and the Minerva Rowing Club.
The Aztecs last appeared in the regatta in the fall of 2001, when they finished the three-mile course in 18 minutes, 16.46 seconds. The time ranked them 44th in a 53-team field that included many tough teams.
Queens University (Canada) won the 2003 Collegiate Eight race with a time of 16:47.32, while Louisville was the top finisher among United States schools (17:01.36). The course-record was set by Rowing Canada in 1997 with a time of 15:44.1.
The Head Of The Charles Regatta, the world's largest two-day rowing event, was first held on October 16, 1965. "Head" races, a class of regattas, are generally three miles long-boats race against each other and the clock, starting sequentially approximately fifteen seconds apart. Winners of each race receive the honorary title of "Head of the River" or, in this case, "Head Of The Charles."
Over the past 40 years, the Head Of The Charles Regatta has grown tremendously. Today, more than 7,000 athletes from around the world compete in 24 different race events. The Regatta grew to a two-day event in 1997 and now attracts up to 300,000 spectators during the October weekend.
Complete results can be found at http://www.row2k.com/results.
SDSU will host an alumni race and family fun day at Mission Bay Aquatic Center on Oct. 30 before participating in the San Diego Row for Cure on Oct. 31.