BURNABY, B.C. — Small-boat victories, strong performances across the varsity roster and two races decided by just two-tenths of a second highlighted a competitive weekend for the UBC Thunderbirds rowing teams at Burnaby Lake.
The Thunderbirds' full men's and women's varsity squads competed at the Western Canadian University Rowing Championships on Saturday, October 3, followed by the Burnaby Lake Small Boat Regatta on Sunday, October 4.
Saturday featured 2,000-metre championship racing, while Sunday's regatta tested crews over a four-kilometre head race, with the top six finishers advancing to a 250-metre dash. Together, the events provided a valuable early-season benchmark as UBC builds toward the Canadian University Rowing Championships in London, Ont., November 7–8.
Western Canadian University Rowing Championships
The University of Victoria captured both the men's and women's overall points banners, with the Thunderbirds and Vikes closely matched in several key events.
The most dramatic finishes came in the men's eight and lightweight men's coxed four. UBC led for much of both races, but UVic mounted late challenges to edge the Thunderbirds by just 0.2 seconds in each event.
"Of course, the guys would have preferred a slightly different outcome, but it was great to see some highly competitive racing from the two top West Coast programs," said UBC men's head coach
Mike Pearce. "It makes for a very exciting setup heading to CUs."
UBC's men's varsity eight featured
Adrian Breen at stroke, followed by
Benjamin Buchheit,
Maijken Meindertsma,
Robert Walsh,
Remo Cramer,
Alec Dorward,
Ellington Peacock and
Declan Blue, with
Edward Lalonde as coxswain.
The Thunderbirds' second varsity eight finished third overall, adding another strong result in the event.
UBC dominated the men's pair, sweeping the top four places with Breen and Buchheit leading the field.
Jack Harris won gold in the lightweight men's single and partnered with
Henry Sowle to finish second in the lightweight men's double behind UVic's top entry.
Owen Bartel and
Braden Durcak placed third and fourth, respectively, in the open men's single.
On the women's side, Morgan Harris-Stoetz captured first place in the lightweight single, while
Amelia Wojtyk finished second in the open single.
Willow Cherewaty and
Madelyn Vandermeer also delivered a standout performance in the women's pair.
The Thunderbirds' women's eight powered to second place, finishing just 3.3 seconds behind UVic. Cherewaty stroked the crew, joined by Vandermeer,
Heidi Craiggs, Nicole Deschenes,
Heather Clarke,
Claudia Makhanko-Tang, Wojtyk and
Sarah Cushnie, with
Gabriella Diaz as coxswain.
UBC's lightweight women's crew also placed second, finishing 7.9 seconds behind the Vikes.
Burnaby Lake Small Boat Regatta
The Thunderbirds carried their small-boat strength into Sunday's four-kilometre head racing, earning victories in the men's single and pair.
Bartel topped the 57-entry men's single field in 15:53.85. Harris finished third in 15:55.46, just 1.61 seconds behind his UBC teammate. Walsh and Durcak led the 17-entry men's pair field in 15:19.9. UBC crews again claimed the top four places, matching their commanding results from Saturday's championship racing.
Sowle and Harris were the top university finishers in the men's double, placing behind the two Rowing Canada entries that took first and second.
The two days of racing gave the Thunderbirds valuable competitive experience across boat classes, with the close contests against UVic setting the stage for an exciting build toward the national championships.
Full results on Regatta Central
Western Canadian University Rowing Championships
Burnaby Lake Small Boat Regatta
