Ladies’ makes clean sweep
The Ladies’ College rowing team completed a very successful 2019 season by winning their annual encounter against Musaeus College with an overwhelming 52-0 points, thus regaining the coveted Marie Musaeus Higgins trophy after a lapse of three years.
This is the third whitewash by Ladies’ College in this series following their 40-0 win in the inaugural encounter in 2004 and their 52-0 win in 2013. This years’ win brought their tally to 10 wins compared to the 5 wins by Musaeus College and one draw. This years’ team was captained by national rower Ashvini Subasinghe with Kavisha Dassanayakeas as her deputy.
The year began with Ladies’ College winning the Sri Lanka Junior National Rowing Championships with a tally of five gold medals, two silvers and a bronze medal. This was the eighth time in the last nine years that Ladies’ College was crowned national champions in their respective age category.
The Ladies’ College team won gold medals in the Under-18 Coxed Fours,
Under-18 Double Sculls, Under-18 Coxless Pair, Under-16 Coxed Fours and Under-16 Single Scull events. Further Anithra Fernando won the School Girl sculling event.
At the Under-23 National Rowing Championships, the Ladies’ quadruple scull won the gold medal. In preparation for the much awaited 16th Ladies’ College vs Musaeus College Regatta, which was held on October 12, the team won many club events.
Notable among them were the Ladies Plate, Cyraine Cup, the Ranfer Sprints won by a junior crew with an average age of 16 years and also beat Bishops College by seven events to one in the inaugural Colombo Rowing Club League event and with the comprehensive win over Musaeus College, Ladies’ College became the inaugural winners of the League Championship organised by the Colombo Rowing Club.
At the LC-MC Regatta, Gabrielle Senanayake, Anithra Fernando and Tanita Goonetilleke won three events each with captain Ashvini Subasinghe, Kiara Kumaranayagam and Niharra Chandrasena winning two events. Kavisha Dassanayake, Anya Devapura, Anelka Karunaratne, Janindri Fernando, Avani Amarasinghe, Keshya Varia, Chiara Wijetilleke, Arshia Silva, Thimaya Dassanayake and Jania Noah also won their respective events.
The rest of the team comprised of Sayaka Gunasekera, Haaya Hassen, Jaana Rodrigo, Raeha Varia, Dinoki Weligepolage and Navindi Rathnajothy.
Gabrielle Senanayake was adjudged the star of the LC-MC Regatta and won the trophy for the Most Outstanding Oarswoman of the regatta for winning her three events and helping the team accumulate 27 points.
The team was coached for the seventh year by Sharen Kannangara with Saliya Gunasekera as the assistant coach, under the guidance of former national coach Lakmal Wickramage, the advisor for Ladies’ College Rowing and very well supported by the teacher-in-charge Lilamani De Sayrah and assisted by Manarangani Navaratne.