Melbourne University Sport

Uni rowers draw Trans-Tasman series
09/07/2007
By Rod Warnecke

Thirteen Melbourne University Boat Club members represented Australian universities in the 2007 Trans-Tasman Challenge in New Zealand last week. The Challenge ended in a drawn series, with each country winning six races over three days.

Comprising a three-race series between a women’s eight and a lightweight women’s quad (Melbourne University Boat Club), a lightweight men’s four (Adelaide University Boat Club) and a men’s eight (Sydney University Boat Club), the Challenge pitted the winning boat crews from the 2006 Australian University Championship against combined New Zealand crews selected from their New Zealand University Games.

Race one and two of the series took place at the picturesque Lake Hayes, on the outskirts of Queenstown over the Olympic distance of 2,000m. After acclimatizing to the extremely cold weather conditions the MUBC women’s eight opened the series with a narrow loss to the NZ eight. Stroked by Anna McKenzie and coxed by Queen’s College’s Nicole Hirst, the crew showed encouraging form, but lost the race by one and a half lengths. The women’s quad raced next and had a convincing five length victory over their NZ opponents, although the win was assisted by a three second head-start due to one of the NZ crew not making the 62kg weight limit. The MUBC crew was stroked by Courtney Adamson with Grace Hicks in the three seat, Elsie Madigan in the two seat and Cecilia Reilly in the bow. Adelaide’s men’s lightweight four took Australia to a 2 – 1 lead after a comfortable win, but the series ended all square after the Sydney men’s eight struggled against the Kiwis.

Race two was a case of déjà vu with a repeat of race one results. The MUBC women’s eight again rowed strongly but went down by two lengths, while the women’s quad were again dominant with another six length victory – this time starting even with the NZ crew making weight.

Australian and MUBC coach Chris Carmody was happy that the women’s quad rowed to expectations.

“The girls really showed their class in the quad, and the eight have really improved compared with their training in Australia”, said coach Carmody.

The Adelaide men’s four continued the dominance of the Australian lightweights, but the Sydney men’s eight were again outclassed by a considerable margin.

The third day of racing had the crews transit some 300+kms to Dunedin Harbour and the home of Otago University Boat Club. The harbour presented a 5km match race with an upset needed by either the women’s or men’s eight if Ausralia was to regain the Trans-Tasman trophy. The MUBC women’s eight again raced first and lead for much of the first half of the race. The girls lead by Hirst, McKenzie, seven seat Sophie Robson, six seat Jane Watson, five seat Lauren Wilton, University College’s Jess Foran, three seat Lauren Burgess, two set Benita Pringle and bow seat Gina Hicks, rowed their best race of the series but NZ were again too strong and pulled away in the final 500m of the race.

The MUBC lightweight women’s quad continued their dominance of the NZ crew with another comfortable victory of 10 plus lengths, and the AUBC lightweight men’s four also won their third straight race in convincing fashion. Unfortunately, the SUBC men’s eight could not arrest their recent form and they were comfortably beaten by the NZ eight. The overall result – six wins a piece, a drawn series and New Zealand retained the Trans-Tasman trophy.

In an un-official tie-breaker, each country put together a mixed eight comprising two members from each of the four boats. The 500m sprint for bragging rights resulted in an Australian victory. Thank you to the New Zealand hosts Sonya Walker from Wakatipu Rowing Club and Glenn Sinclair from Otago University Boat Club.


Home Membership Facilities Group Fitness Health Services Clubs Sport and Recreation Ski Lodge About Us Contact Us News Archive Merchandise	Uni rowers draw Trans-Tasman series 09/07/2007 By Rod Warnecke Thirteen Melbourne University Boat Club members represented Australian universities in the 2007 Trans-Tasman Challenge in New Zealand last week. The Challenge ended in a drawn series, with each country winning six races over three days. Comprising a three-race series between a women’s eight and a lightweight women’s quad (Melbourne University Boat Club), a lightweight men’s four (Adelaide University Boat Club) and a men’s eight (Sydney University Boat Club), the Challenge pitted the winning boat crews from the 2006 Australian University Championship against combined New Zealand crews selected from their New Zealand University Games. Race one and two of the series took place at the picturesque Lake Hayes, on the outskirts of Queenstown over the Olympic distance of 2,000m. After acclimatizing to the extremely cold weather conditions the MUBC women’s eight opened the series with a narrow loss to the NZ eight. Stroked by Anna McKenzie and coxed by Queen’s College’s Nicole Hirst, the crew showed encouraging form, but lost the race by one and a half lengths. The women’s quad raced next and had a convincing five length victory over their NZ opponents, although the win was assisted by a three second head-start due to one of the NZ crew not making the 62kg weight limit. The MUBC crew was stroked by Courtney Adamson with Grace Hicks in the three seat, Elsie Madigan in the two seat and Cecilia Reilly in the bow. Adelaide’s men’s lightweight four took Australia to a 2 – 1 lead after a comfortable win, but the series ended all square after the Sydney men’s eight struggled against the Kiwis. Race two was a case of déjà vu with a repeat of race one results. The MUBC women’s eight again rowed strongly but went down by two lengths, while the women’s quad were again dominant with another six length victory – this time starting even with the NZ crew making weight. Australian and MUBC coach Chris Carmody was happy that the women’s quad rowed to expectations. “The girls really showed their class in the quad, and the eight have really improved compared with their training in Australia”, said coach Carmody. The Adelaide men’s four continued the dominance of the Australian lightweights, but the Sydney men’s eight were again outclassed by a considerable margin. The third day of racing had the crews transit some 300+kms to Dunedin Harbour and the home of Otago University Boat Club. The harbour presented a 5km match race with an upset needed by either the women’s or men’s eight if Ausralia was to regain the Trans-Tasman trophy. The MUBC women’s eight again raced first and lead for much of the first half of the race. The girls lead by Hirst, McKenzie, seven seat Sophie Robson, six seat Jane Watson, five seat Lauren Wilton, University College’s Jess Foran, three seat Lauren Burgess, two set Benita Pringle and bow seat Gina Hicks, rowed their best race of the series but NZ were again too strong and pulled away in the final 500m of the race. The MUBC lightweight women’s quad continued their dominance of the NZ crew with another comfortable victory of 10 plus lengths, and the AUBC lightweight men’s four also won their third straight race in convincing fashion. Unfortunately, the SUBC men’s eight could not arrest their recent form and they were comfortably beaten by the NZ eight. The overall result – six wins a piece, a drawn series and New Zealand retained the Trans-Tasman trophy. In an un-official tie-breaker, each country put together a mixed eight comprising two members from each of the four boats. The 500m sprint for bragging rights resulted in an Australian victory. Thank you to the New Zealand hosts Sonya Walker from Wakatipu Rowing Club and Glenn Sinclair from Otago University Boat Club.