Fighting Illini Race in 48th Head of the Charles

This past weekend, the Illini Rowing Club rowed in the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta. The nearly 3 mile long race is held on the Charles River in Boston, MA every year and brings together over 2000 crews from around the world. This year was the first time a crew from the University of Illinois has competed in the race. The Varsity Women's 4+ from the Illini Rowing Club gained an at-large entry this year after winning the Novice Women's 4+ at the American Collegiate Rowing Championships in May of this year. The women's crew race in the Collegiate Women's 4+ (4 rowers plus coxswain) event, which brought together 38 crews from across the country.The race was Head Race style in which competitors start staggered 15 seconds apart and race the clock with penalties being assessed for cutting buoys on the course and impeding other crews. The Illini crew started in the 28th position at the start of their race, and wasted little time moving up the field. The crew was able to row-over (pass someone who started ahead of them) three crews (Connecticut College, UMass, and New York University) while also opening up a lead on University of Vermont and University of Texas who started immediately behind them. The 4+ from Illinois was able to prevent all boats from passing en route to a 19th place finish out of 38 crews - they finished in a time of 20:28.628 (6.46% off of 1st - 19:14.111 Bowdoin College). The Illini came in behind Midwest rivals University of Chicago (10th place) and Marquette University (15th place), while also falling short of BigTen club rival Penn State (14th place); However, by finishing in the top half of the event (albeit it narrowly), they guaranteed their entry into next year's race.The crew was led by Coxswain Samantha Sanders (So) and Stroke-seat Meridith Kisting (So). Also in the crew were 3-seat Danielle Saubert (Sr), 2-seat Julia Briscoe (Sr), and Bow-seat Sandra Peters (Sr).Also racing this weekend were Illini Coaches Erik Kroeker and Samantha Polak in the Mixed Double Director's Challenge. The double took 16th place overall in the charity event, competing as against predominantly masters crews.