The Deerfield girls’ rowing team traveled to Hanover, NH to compete against Hanover High School and Phillips Exeter Academy. The weather was fantastic: sunny, warm, mild wind and flat water! A big thanks to the host school, Hanover, for organizing this regatta! And thanks to both Hanover and Exeter for tremendous racing!
Full race results can be found here.
4V
In the first race of the afternoon for the girls’ team, the crew of Leela Portny ‘25, Emily Rice ‘24, Anneke Wittink ‘25, Allie Kostiuk ‘25, Mary O’Shea ‘25, Holly Bernstein ‘26, Harmoni Dobbins ‘26, Izzy Ramirez ‘25, and Hasini Pundla ‘24 raced against Hanover High School. After a delay to the start of their race, due to an equipment problem with one of their competitors, this crew raced well against a determined group from Hanover. After an aggressive start, Deerfield powered down the course and established a lead over Hanover. They continued to race aggressively and completed the course in 5:28.1, ahead of Hanover in 6:08.4. As it turns out, this group would have an opportunity to race again later in the day.
In an act of sportsmanship, the girls from Deerfield were incredibly gracious and offered to race Exeter, whose equipment malfunction had prevented them from racing earlier in the day. This race was generously added to the end of the afternoon schedule. In this race, Deerfield faced off against Exeter and managed a similar outcome to their earlier race. After a strong start, Deerfield set a consistent and fast pace through the middle of the race to separate from Exeter, who was racing for the first time this season. DA finished with a time of 5:48.9, ahead of Exeter in 6:16.2 Kudos to this group for their sportsmanship and eagerness to race!
5V
Up next for Deerfield was the girls’ fifth boat race. The crew of Melody Zhao ‘26, Edie Huffard ‘25, Caylah Yang ‘26, Sarah Henderson ‘26, Valerie Trevino ‘26, Charlotte Brooker ‘26, Maggie Monroe-Williams ‘26, Izzy Cericola ‘24, and Ella Waag ‘26 raced for the second time this season! In this four boat race, Deerfield faced an entry from Exeter and two entries from Hanover. This group found themselves in a great boat race with Hanover’s 5V. It was a back and forth battle with the two boats remaining overlapped for much of the race. In the closing stages of the race, Deerfield was able to extend its advantage to earn a hard fought and well deserved victory! They crossed in a time of 6:14.8, ahead of the Hanover 5V in 6:17.9, Exeter in 6:29.4, and Hanover 6V in 6:52.1.
3V
The next race was the girls’ third boat of Emily Bruno ‘25, Vivian Monopoli ‘26, Hazel Patton ‘26, Alexandra Fierro ‘25, Olivia Port ‘26, Ariana Djunic ‘26, Mia Senturk ‘24, Elizabeth Richards ‘24, and Liv Boe ‘25. This group had a great row against strong crews from Hanover and Exeter. After a quick start, they rowed well through the middle of the race and established a lead on their competitors. Deerfield raced hard all the way to the finish line, crossing in a time of 5:19.8. Hanover crossed in 2nd (5:33.4) and Exeter in 3rd (5:37.1). This race highlighted some great progress over the last two weeks for this crew!
2V
Deerfield’s crew of Charlotte Steffensen ‘25, Jane Bannon ‘26, Anna Ogborne ‘25, Alice Zhang ‘24, Evelyn Kunde ‘26, Melinda Aznar Klein ‘25, Elizabeth Kelly ‘25, Fiona Van Nice ‘25, and Jenny Jin ‘24 raced crews from Hanover and Exeter in the girls’ second boat. This turned out to be a terrific race for Deerfield. After a strong start by all three teams, Deerfield managed a small margin over both Exeter and Hanover. They held on to a narrow lead during the first half but used a strong second half to build their margin over Exeter, remaining composed against a persistent Exeter crew. By the finish, Deerfield crossed in a time of 5:11.8, ahead of Exeter in 5:18.3 and Hanover in 5:36.9. This group continues to make improvements to their racing every week!
1V
Towards the end of the afternoon’s racing, the crew of Emi Takegami ‘25, Lillian Auth ‘24, Tatum Lowe ‘25, Georgia Sackrey ‘23, Natalie Meyer ‘23, Teagan Farley ‘26, Rachel Mark ‘23, Larrabee Pollack ‘23, and Margot McAuliffe ‘24 raced against strong crews from Hanover and Exeter. The crew had a great start, leading by a few seats over Hanover and remaining fairly even with Exeter after the opening strokes. Through the middle of the race, Exeter and Deerfield pushed each other hard, trading seats. Towards the finish, DA closed well and managed to increase their margin slightly. They crossed the line in 4:57.1, ahead of Exeter in 4:59.6 and Hanover in 5:14.9. It was a tight race the whole way, a great race rowed by all three teams.
The racing in Hanover was a great experience for all, especially as it allowed our entire program (boys’ and girls’ teams) to race together at the same event. The team is looking forward to its next race against Bedford School (NH) on May 13! Many thanks to the parents who were able to travel to Hanover and view the racing! Go Big Green!