West Coast crew is bridesmaid no more
California is a long way from the Charles River and its prestigious three-mile course, but for the California, Berkeley men’s championship eights, the cross-country flight to this year’s 53rd annual Head of the Charles Regatta was well worth it. The Golden Bears, after three consecutive second-place finishes, finally reached the top of the medal stand with a finishing time of 13 minutes, 27.47 seconds.
“The Head of the Charles is like the Rose Bowl of rowing, so to come back here and win this event after three straight second-place finishes is special,” said UC Berkeley coach Mike Teti. “I am happy for the entire team and we’re grateful to be able to row in such a great city. Coming here and winning makes the whole trip worthwhile.”
The Harvard entrant finished in fourth (13:34.69), while Northeastern impressed with a fifth-place finish (13:41.31).
In the men’s collegiate eights, the University of Virginia captured first place with a time of 14:24.21. Bates College of Lewiston, Maine, made waves with a thirdplace finish (14:32.44) and local favorite MIT took seventh (14:40.91).
The women’s championship eights was won by the University of Sudbury (Ontario, Canada), which finished in a time of 14:48.42, while favored Yale finished in seventh with a 15:23.48. Bates won the women’s collegiate eights in 16:01.18.
Herald silverware
In the men’s lightweight eights, Princeton captured the annual Boston Herald Cup with a time of 13:49.68. The eight-man crew included rowers David Slear, Dan Hogan, Jordi Cabanas, Adam Teece, James Sincavage, James Goble, Charlie Kwitchoff, Rich Swanton, and coxswain Sydney Edwards . . ..
Quin Daly and George Lathrop, the Connecticut 13-yearolds who made up the youngest youth doubles team ever to row in the regatta, finished 41st (19:49.58) in the youth doubles event.
The two rowed to raise money for Children of Fallen Patriots, which gives scholarships to children of soldiers who died in the line of duty.
Family affair
A love for rowing is what brought the Mangan family to compete in the regatta’s final race, the Directors’ Challenge Mixed Eight, but this was a story as much about perseverance as it was about the family circle and the sport.
Andrew Mangan, a senior at Canisius High School in Buffalo, suffered a serious spinal injury last winter. After months of rehabilitation in Colorado, he along with his brothers Connor, Peter, and Will; sisters Tricia and Mary Catherine; and his parents, Martha and David, came to Boston to raise awareness for spinal injuries by doing what they love to do: row.
“When (the injury) happened, we as a family rallied around Andrew,” said his oldest brother Connor, who rowed for Harvard. “It was through prayer and his hard work that we are here today. It is an honor to be competing as a family in this prestigious event.” The Mangan family finished 32nd in 18:51.00.
A star is born
BB&N senior Anna Matthes, a club rower for the Cambridge Boat Club, left her mark yesterday on a pictureperfect day for racing. Matthes cruised in winning the women’s Youth Singles event in 19:30.59, more than a minute better than second-place finisher Julia Knowles of Founders Rowing Club (Texas).
“This is my first win at the Charles,” said Matthes, who previously raced in the women’s Youth Doubles event. “I had done some singles races before and I liked it, so (this year) I decided to focus on that . ... This is so exciting to win it for the CBC.”