Queen's Rowing delivered a series of strong performances this past weekend at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts, with the Gaels recording four top-10 finishes at the world's largest three-day rowing event.
Drawing approximately 12,000 athletes from around the world, the prestigious regatta challenges crews on a roughly three-mile course along the Charles River. Featuring six bridges and tight, technical turns, the course demands precision, endurance and strong teamwork from every competitor.
Gillian Jansen (Life Science: Specialization) led the Queen's contingent with a fourth-place finish in the Women's Lightweight 1x. The Men's Lightweight 4+, featuring Alex Ladage (School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs), Leo Biancaniello (Faculty of Applied Science), Nigel Radhakrishnan (Electrical Engineering) and Liam Shapland, with coxswain Maddy Worthy (Arts), also earned a fourth-place finish.
The Women's Lightweight 4+ crew of Isidora Ferguson, Orla Bailey, Sophie Aspinall (Faculty of Health Sciences) and Isabel Geiger, with coxswain Nicole Schmidt (Faculty of Nursing), followed closely with a fifth-place result.
Queen's also secured eighth place in the Women's Lightweight 8+, featuring Lucy Finlayson (Faculty of Health Sciences & Nursing), Abigail Cox (Sciences), Sophie Robbins (Physics and Computer Science), Hadley Micheal, Juliet Fandrich (Faculty of Arts & Science), Solena Chernov, Kaie Bain (Faculty of Arts & Science) and Ayva Cottrell (Faculty of Arts & Science), with coxswain Rowan Lawlor (Life Sciences and Biochemistry).
The Men's Lightweight 8+ finished ninth, with Markus Muller, Dennis Ovdiyenko (Mining Engineering), Kieran Fitzpatrick (Commerce), James Cuff, Noah Paquin (Faculty of Smith Engineering), Jackson Schwandt (Mathematical Physics), Ben Schindler (Concurrent Ed/Arts) and Liam Haughian (Engineering), with coxswain Lauren Schwandt (Geological Engineering).
In the remaining events, the Men's Club 8+ placed 20th. The crew featured Alex Wittstock (Commerce), Aiden MacPhail (Arts Econ), Connor Dickson (Faculty of Applied Science), James MacNeil (Kinesiology), Andrew Schrompf, Josh Mills (Faculty of Applied Science), Peyton Williams (Faculty of Applied Science) and Chase Morris (Faculty of Smith Engineering), with coxswain Sophie Stuart.
The Women's Championship 8+ finished 30th against a competitive international field. The crew included Kaija Erickson (School of Kinesiology and Health Studies), Jacquie Groenewegen (Computer Engineering), Seija Erickson (School of Kinesiology and Health Studies), Roxy Nazar (Master of Public Health), Emerson Wehmeyer (Faculty of Applied Science), Kenzie Thompson (Faculty of Applied Science), Alexis McLaughlin (Mechanical Engineering) and Julia Schuurmans (School of Medicine), with coxswain Ava Wong (Commerce).
Queen's returns to the water for the OUA Rowing Championship on Saturday, Oct. 31 in St. Catharines, Ont.
