Strong showings from university boat clubs at GB Rowing Team’s first assessment

The GB Rowing Team’s first assessment took place on Saturday, 4 and Sunday, 5 November in Boston, Lincolnshire.

It was a mixed weekend of weather in Boston, Lincolnshire that greeted 251 crews from 56 rowing clubs at the GB Rowing Team’s first assessment for Senior and Under 23s. On Saturday, rowers took on a 2km ergo test followed by a 5km on the water time-trial on Sunday.

Rowers who competed at the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton were exempt from the assessment so it was a good chance for young talent to shine through, with a particularly good showing from many of the university clubs in attendance.

In the women’s single, returning Olympic silver medallist Zoe Lee (Imperial College London) took the top spot as she returned to racing for the first time since having knee surgery in early 2017. Lee finished over five seconds ahead of Georgina Brayshaw (Leander Club) and Ruth Siddorn (Leander Club), who took second and third respectively.

The Edinburgh University pair of India Somerside and Lauren Gray took the win in the women’s pair taking the win by just under two seconds from Rebecca Edwards (Molesey BC/Univ of Essex) and Katie Bartlett (Molesey BC/Kingston Univ), followed by Leander’s pair of Emily Ford and Bayly Camp, who came in third a further four seconds behind.

In the men’s single, it was a one, two for World Class Start rowers Jon Stimpson (Nottingham RC / Reading RC) and Matthew Haywood (Nottingham RC / Nottingham Trent University) with only 1.39 seconds separating the top two spots. Third place went to 2017 Boat Races winner Joshua Bugajski (Oxford University Boat Club), who came in just under five seconds behind.

Isis Boat Club took the honours in the men’s pair with Tobias Schroder and Felix Drinkall taking the win by over seven seconds from Sam Twine and George Rossiter of Leander Club in second, and Edinburgh University’s Oliver Wilkes and Calum Irvine in third.

In the lightweight women’s single, Francesca Rawlins of Tideway Scullers School prevailed, making this the first female sculling win at a GB Rowing Team assessment for Tideway Scullers School. Rawlins was followed in by Imogen Grant (Cambridge University Women’s BC) and Rosalind Wilson (Durham University) taking second and third, respectively.

In the lightweight men’s single, Jonathan Jackson (Leander Club) won by an impressive margin of over five seconds, ahead of second place Dominic Jackson (Newcastle University) and third place Benjamin Reeves (Oxford Brookes University).

The full results from the weekend’s first assessment can be found here.

OPEN MEN

Pair (top 10 finishers)

1.   Tobias Schroder / Felix Drinkall (Isis Boat Club), 16:12.42

2.   Sam Twine / George Rossiter (Leander Club), 16:19.93

3.  Oliver Wilkes / Calum Irvine (Edinburgh University), 16:22.70

4.  Robert Hurn / Frederick Davidson (Goldie BC), 16:26.80

5.  Rory Gibbs / Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes University), 16:27.13

6.  Sam Arnot / Nick Middleton (Leander Club), 16:33.56

7.  Matthew Aldridge / Henry Swarbrick (Oxford Brookes University), 16:35.24

8.  Barnaby Stentiford / James Stanhope (Leander Club), 16:35.71

9.  Vassilis Ragoussis / Iain Mandale (NON TRIAL) (Isis Boat Club), 16:36.50

10. James Robson / Edward Grisedale (Newcastle University / Oxford Brookes University), 16:38.43

 

Single (top 10 finishers)

1. Jonathan Stimpson (Nottingham RC / Reading RC), 17:22.53

2.  Matthew Haywood (Nottingham RC / Nottingham Trent University), 17:23.92

3.  Joshua Bugajski (Oxford University Boat Club), 17:28.23

4.  Rowan Law (Leander Club), 17:29.86

5.  Harry Leask (Leander Club), 17:31.27

6.  Jack Burns (Clydesdale ARC), 17:32.89

7.  Andrew Joel (Leander Club), 17:33.81

8.  Jake Brown (Agecroft RC), 17:39.33

9.  Morgan Hellen (Molesey BC), 17:40.39

10. Oliver Costley (Newcastle University), 17:48.24

 

OPEN WOMEN

Pair  (top 10 finishers)

1.  India Somerside / Lauren Gray (Edinburgh University), 18:46.74

2.  Rebecca Edwards / Katie Bartlett (Molesey BC/Univ of Essex / Molesey BC/Kingston Univ), 18:48.30

3.  Emily Ford / Bayly Camp (Leander Club), 18:52.51

4.  Caitlin Boyland / Ruth Whyman (Molesey BC/Loughborough Univ / Molesey BC), 18:55.11

5.  Lucy Primmer / Gabby Rodriguez (NON TRIAL) (Molesey BC), 18:56.17

6. Pippa Dakin / Amelia Perrin (BUCS ONLY) (Cambridge University Women’s BC), 18:56.17

7. Georgia Statham / Hannah Roberts (University of London), 18:59.89

8. Susannah Dear / Zoe Taylor (Oxford Brookes University), 19:00.39

9. Emily Ashford / Chloe Laverack (Leander Club), 19:01.83

10. Sophia Heath / Grace Macdonald (Oxford Brookes University), 19:05.50

 

Single (top 10 finishers)

1.  Zoe Lee (Imperial College London), 19:29.10

2. Georgina Brayshaw (Leander Club), 19:34.74

3. Ruth Siddorn (Leander Club), 19:42.27

4.  Lucy Glover (Edinburgh University), 19:42.49

5.  Katy Wilkinson-Feller (Tideway Scullers School), 19:43.36

6.  Emily Carmichael (Leander Club), 19:44.52

7.  Steph Clutterbuck (Bath University), 19:46.51

8.  Laura Meridew (Reading RC), 19:57.48

9.  Zoe Adamson (Leander Club), 19:58.50

10. Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne (University of London), 20:02.32

 

LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN

Single (top 10 finishers)

1. Francesca Rawlins (Tideway Scullers School), 19:43.21

2.  Imogen Grant (Cambridge University Women’s BC), 19:45.55

3.  Rosalind Wilson (Durham University), 19:49.87

4.  Mary Wilson (Wallingford RC), 19:59.66

5.  Amelia Carlton (Tideway Scullers School), 20:03.06

6. Laura Mcdonald (Edinburgh University), 20:07.86

7.  Susannah Duncan (University of Exeter), 20:09.05

8.  Bethany Meakin (Oxford Brookes University), 20:10.72

9.  Lucy Iball (Grosvenor RC), 20:12.11

10. Christie Duff (Wallingford RC), 20:13.72

 

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN

Single (top 10 finishers)

1.  Jonathan Jackson (Leander Club), 17:36.48

2.  Dominic Jackson (Newcastle University), 17:41.62

3.  Benjamin Reeves (Oxford Brookes University), 17:46.98

4.  Matthew Curtis (Edinburgh University), 17:55.23

5.  James Temple (Edinburgh University), 17:59.88

6.  Robby Crowther (Leander Club), 17:59.98

7.  Dale Flockhart (Edinburgh University), 18:02.33

8.  Robert Fuller (Newcastle University), 18:08.52

9.  James Stevenson (Newcastle University), 18:08.66

10.  Sebastian Matthews (Leander Club), 18:08.84