Novice Men Win Bronze, Novice Women Remain Undefeated Against Club Varsity Crews

The Illinois Men’s and Women’s Rowing Clubs competed in the 29th Annual Head of the Rock. The regatta was host to over 50 clubs and university teams, including National Club Varsity Men’s Champions University of Michigan, and D1 women’s crews from University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota. The events were head race format (staggered starts with 15 second intervals between crews, and all crews racing against the clock) over a roughly 5000m course.The Novice Men’s 8+ won Bronze behind University of Minnesota and University of Michigan. This was their second medal of the weekend after winning Gold in the same event at the Quad Cities Classic the day prior. While the Novice Women’s 8+ lost to the D1 Wisconsin boats, they finished 1:14.62 ahead of the next fastest Club Varsity team and a mere 16.50 seconds behind the 3rd place Wisconsin crew. This starts the Novice Women’s 8+ off undefeated against Club Varsity squads.The Varsity Men’s 8+ finished 8th in a particularly deep field of Club Varsity crews led by University of Michigan. The Varsity Men finished with a time of 14:54.75 (a record for Illinois at the Head of the Rock) with only 32.56 seconds separating them from 2nd place Purdue. The Varsity Women’s 8+ finished behind D1 crews Wisconsin and Minnesota, and Club Varsity National Bronze Medalists Purdue. Illinois finished ahead of six other Club Varsity crews.Over the Double Header Weekend, Illinois took home a record 4 Gold, 2 Silver, and 2 Bronze. The Varsity Women’s 4+ will next race in the 49th Head of the Charles on October 19th in Boston. The entire team will race again on October 26th in the First Annual Chicago Boat Race against Northwestern University in Chicago.