The Deerfield Academy girls’ rowing team traveled to Worcester, MA for their end of season championship. Heading into the regatta, all boats were positioned to do well, having earned top seeds in the 1st, 3rd and 4th boat categories and a 2-seed in the 2nd boat. The weather forecast for Saturday predicted afternoon thunderstorms and forced a change in the racing schedule and, by virtue of their seeds, the DA boats were all placed into the grand final of their respective events. The racing conditions on Saturday morning were good, a light headwind that did not disturb the water much and allowed for great racing.
The morning began with racing from the girls’ first boat. The crew of co-captain Nicole Xing ‘22, co-captain Lila Nottage ‘22, Natalie Meyer ‘23, Rachel Mark ‘23, and Larrabee Pollack ‘23 faced off against NMH, Winsor, Greenwich, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, and Nobles. The race started aggressively, especially from CRLS who jumped out to an early lead. The girls from DA stayed composed and worked their way back into CRLS with NMH and Winsor following closely. Deerfield used the middle part of the racecourse to push themselves into the lead and a determined effort from this boat gave the crew about ¾ of a boat length advantage over Winsor and NMH heading into the final 500m of the race. Winsor charged hard but DA held them off and finished in first place about 1.3 seconds ahead. NMH finished in 3rd place, CRLS in 4th, Nobles 5th and Greenwich Academy in 6th. Congratulations to all of these crews for a great race! Deerfield will continue racing at the Youth Nationals in Sarasota, FL in early June.
Next up was the girls’ second boat. Seeded 2nd for the event, the crew of Emi Takegami ‘25, Lillian Auth ‘24, Olivia Konar ‘22, Georgia Sackrey ‘23, and Margot McAuliffe ‘24 got off to a strong start in their race, rowing level with the field through the first 200m. However, an aggressive base speed saw them push their bow to the front of the pack in the first 500m. This crew’s determined effort through the middle of the race allowed them to continue growing their advantage over NMH and Nobles, who were running in 2nd and 3rd. By the halfway point, DA had built an open water lead over the field and continued to pull away in the second half of the race. Deerfield crossed the line about 9 seconds ahead of 2nd place Nobles and 3rd place NMH. Greenwich, Groton, and Lyme/Old Lyme rounded out 4th – 6th place. Special recognition to Olivia Konar, who rowed for her final time in green–what a way to end her senior season!
The next race of the morning was the girls’ third boat final. Deerfield’s crew of Ashley LaBrucherie ‘23, Carson Stultz ‘24, Tatum Lowe ‘25, Fiona Van Nice ‘25, and Jenny Jin ‘24 faced strong competition in their final from Nobles, Groton, Brooks, Middlesex and Greenwich. This crew had a clean start, but found themselves trailing Groton and Brooks in the early going. However, they maintained their composure and used a strong first 500m to come back and take the lead in the first third of the race. Entering the middle portion of the race, it was a close race between Deerfield and Nobles, who had both pulled away from the rest of the field. In the closing stages of the race, DA was able to further distance themselves from Nobles and crossed the finish line 7 seconds ahead of Nobles, with Groton in 3rd place followed by Brooks, Middlesex and Greenwich. This race completes an undefeated season for the girls’ third boat!
In the final race for the Big Green, the crew of Charlotte Steffensen ‘25, Alice Zhang ‘24, Alessia Root ‘23, Lily Pierce ‘25 and Mia Senturk ‘24 faced off against Nobles, Groton, NMH, Brooks, and Greenwich in the grand final of the girls’ fourth boat. This crew used an aggressive start to grab an early advantage over the field. They continued to race hard and extend their lead through the middle portion of the race course. Nobles trailed but continued to fight hard. Entering the closing stages of the race, DA sprinted for the line and crossed 12 seconds ahead of second place Nobles, followed by Groton in 3rd with NMH, Brooks and Greenwich rounding out 4th – 6th place. This race capped an unbeaten season by the girls’ fourth boat, a tremendous accomplishment!
By virtue of winning all four finals at the NEIRA Regatta, the Deerfield girls’ were also awarded the team trophy. Congratulations to these rowers and coxswains for this accomplishment and for a fantastic season!
Full racing results can be found here.
Video replay of the racing can be found using the links below:
Girls’ First Boat
Girls’ Second Boat
Girls’ Third Boat
Girls’ Fourth Boat
Congratulations to all of the teams competing at the NEIRA Regatta and a special ‘thank you’ to coach Brian Hunt and coach Linda Hannum for their hard work with our team this season. And, finally, congratulations to both the girls’ and boys’ rowing teams from Deerfield on their team championships!
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NEIRA is at Regatta Point Park, Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester, MA
Address: Regatta Point Park, 10 N Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
Click here for more information on the venue.