Contact: Jenni Brockman St. Margaret's School crews finished second and fifth in the girls' varsity four race held April 1st at the Occoquan Reservoir in northern Virginia. The 2000 crew team, only the second rowing team ever at St. Margaret's, made an astonishing debut at the Walter Mess Regatta. St. Margaret's competed against a battery of crews including their archrival, Christchurch Episcopal, and Matthews, Gloucester, and Episcopal High Schools. The weather started out fair in the morning but was quickly replaced by wind and rough water during the early afternoon.
St. Margaret's varsity and novice boat rosters were: Varsity four team B (yellow) - Katie Hawks, coxswain, Kelly Proctor, stroke and crew members Ruth Redfearn, Olivia Dix, and Rachelle Slotnick; varsity four team A (white) - Laura Austin, coxswain, Claire Stephenson, stroke and crew members Kathleen McDermott, Catherine Redfearn, and Sarah Taliaferro; novice four - Anne Czechanski, coxswain, Britton Faulkner, stroke and crew members Liz Davidson, Alex Burdette, and Claire Davidson; novice eight - Ellen Totten, coxswain, Sara Byrum, stroke and crew members Laura Caton, Cristen Carnes, Liz Davidson, Liz Ogren, Alston Moore, Nina Zibule, and Carter Holloway. The girls varsity four race was the highlight of the afternoon for the Scotties, as St. Margaret's A and B teams placed second and fifth, respectively. Led by senior coxswain Laura Austin, St. Margaret's A pulled away from Christchurch (6:27.8) with 50 meters remaining on the 1,500-meter course, to capture second place in 6 minutes 25.9 seconds.
St. Margaret's B team, competing in lane five, nipped Jefferson (7:07.0) to place fifth in 6:50.7. Woodson (6:11.0) won the race and Gloucester (6:48.8) finished fourth. "Meters from the finish we were neck and neck with Gloucester but couldn't take the lead", said St. Margaret's stroke Kelly Proctor commenting on team B's race.
Junior stroke Britton Faulkner, a member of the St. Margaret's novice eight crew, injured her finger de-rigging the boat on Friday but did not let the cut nor the fresh stitches on her finger keep her from rowing Saturday. St. Margaret's novice eight finished in 8 minutes 41.1 seconds and placed fourth behind Robinson (6:25.0), Potomac (6:29.4), JEB Stuart (7:04.4), and Langley (7:57.7). In the novice four race, Mathews won in 7:12.7. St. Margaret's placed third behind Gloucester (7:34.5) in 8:17.4. Said Alex Burdette of the novice four race, "It was the best we have rowed as a crew since the season began…so we lost, big deal…what matters is that we work together as a team and improve." With her St. Margaret's coaching debut behind her, head coach Kary Fronk and her assistant coach, Andrea Robinson, can now focus on the waters ahead. Coach Fronk's mother, Kate Stevenson, and Mrs. Stevenson's husband, Dr. Richard Braen, traveled from Buffalo, NY to provide their support. "It was great that Mom and Richard made the trip this weekend," said an ebullient Fronk. "They're awesome to have traveled such a long way just for me. I love them!"
"We're just hitting our stride after scheduling double practices during the week. This was a really nice way to start the season", assistant coach Robinson said. "We raced according to our plan, and we are right where we want to be against these other crews at this point in the season."
"The races between crews keep getting closer," coach Fronk added. "This speaks well for the caliber of rowing competition in Virginia and the District, and it keeps improving every weekend."
Telephone: 804-443-3357(w/h)
Fax: 804-443-6781
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Rowing Coach, SMS Keep Pace At Walter Mess Regatta
St. Margaret's novice eight crew hustles toward the finish of a grueling 1500-meter race at the Walter Mess Regatta on the Occoquan Reservoir, Saturday, April 1.
St. Margaret's crew members Britt Faulkner (l.), Liz Davidson (middle) and Rachelle Slotnick inspect their four-person shell prior to their race at the Occoquan Reservoir, Saturday, April 1.
