The Deerfield girls’ rowing team traveled to Saratoga Springs, NY to compete in the Saratoga Invitational. This two day regatta provided an opportunity for every member of the team to race, many of them for the first time this season! The racing on Saturday was 1500m long and included up to ten boats per race. The team’s 1V and 2V boats raced on Sunday over a distance of 2000m. The weather offered very challenging conditions on Saturday with a strong headwind that made the water very choppy. Conditions on Sunday improved slightly. A big thanks to the host club, Saratoga, for organizing this regatta!
Full race results can be found here.
1V
In the first race of the afternoon for the Deerfield girls’ team, the crew of Emi Takegami ‘25, Elizabeth Kelly ‘25, Fiona Van Nice ‘25, Mary O’Shea ‘25, Anna Ogborne ‘25, Teagan Farley ‘26, Tatum Lowe ‘25, Melinda Aznar Klein ‘25, and Margot McAuliffe ‘24 raced against a number of other clubs and schools over 1500m. The crew had a solid start in very challenging water conditions and after about 500m of racing they trailed RowAmerica Rye by 1 length but held an advantage of 1 length over New Trier High School and Kent School. Deerfield was unable to hold onto Rye through the middle section of the race but they were able to slightly extend their lead over the other boats. By the finish, Rye had built a substantial lead, but DA had asserted themselves into a strong second place position and crossed the line ahead of New Trier and the other crews in the race.
Replay of Saturday race.
By virtue of their time on Saturday’s 1500m race, Deerfield qualified for Final 1 during Sunday’s 2000m racing. In this race, Deerfield again started well. They faced RowAmerica Rye again, along with several other strong clubs and schools. Rye blasted off the start and DA found themselves in a tightly bunched field with the other four teams through the first 750m of the race. In the second half, DA lost Greenwich and RowAmerica Rye battled each other for the lead and were well ahead of Deerfield over the 2000m course. But, the Big Green rowed well within themselves and finished the race in 5th, behind Rye, Greenwich, CRI, New Trier but ahead of Saratoga Rowing Association.
Replay of Sunday race
2V
After a long delay at the start line, Saturday afternoon’s second race for DA included the crew of Charlotte Steffensen ‘25, Jane Bannon ‘26, Hazel Patton ‘26, Charlotte Coody ‘26, Addie Williams-Ness ‘26, Sloane Celli ‘27, Gigi Selvig ‘27, Liv Boe ‘25, and Jenny Jin ‘24. They raced against a number of clubs and schools over 1500m. In their race, Deerfield went hard off the start attempting to hang with CRI and RowAmerica Rye, both of whom had good speed in the first 500m. Deerfield was able to jump out to a length advantage over Kent School early in the race. The middle of the race course was very choppy and DA struggled to handle the water conditions and ended up slipping behind CRI and Rye. They continued to row hard and finished their race in 4th, posting a very competitive time in the 2V event.
Replay of Saturday race.
Their time placed them into Final 2 for Sunday’s 2000m racing. This time, Deerfield was able to get off the line well and lead their field. The crew rowed well within themselves and continued to move out on the field through the middle section of the race course. The crew was able to cross the line in first and it was a tremendous performance over the two days by this group, who continue to make progress in their racing this season!
Replay of Sunday race
3V
The next race was the girls’ third boat of Audrey Steffensen ‘26, Allie Kostiuk ‘25, Lucy Linnenbach ‘27, Izzy Ramirez ‘25, Mia Senturk ‘24, Holly Bernstein ‘26, Olivia Port ‘26, Kate Andrews ‘27, and Anneke Wittink ‘25. This group started well and aggressively, handling the chappy water well and building a margin over several other teams while trailing only RowAmerica Rye and Connecticut Boat Club after 250m. However, crew was reeled in by A few teams, including Kent School in the middle section of the course. In the second half of the race, this group stayed tough but could not quite keep pace with Rye, CBC, Kent, Saratoga, and Greenwich. They fought hard until the finish line, ultimately crossing in 6th place.
Replay of Saturday race.
4V
In the final race of the afternoon, the crew of Vi Reddy ‘27, Izzy Cericola ‘24, Plum Schiff ‘27, Sylvie Sobotka ‘26, Ella Waag ‘26, Cecy Yazwinski ‘27, Katherine Goltra ‘27, Edie Huffard ‘25, and Maggie Monroe ‘26 raced in the 4V/5V race. In just their second race of the season, this group did a tremendous job of racing hard from start to finish. It was a fast and competitive field, with a couple of entries from RowAmerica Rye, CRI, and Greenwich, all very strong club programs. Deerfield found themselves next to Connecticut Boat Club for much of the race but couldn’t quite keep pace in the closing stages of the race.
Replay of Saturday race.
5V
In the first race for Deerfield, the crew of Valerie Trevino ‘26, Ellie Maeda ‘27, Saadia Ouermi ‘27, Skylar Ricketts ‘27, Charlotte McFadzean ‘26, Cecy Yazwinski ‘27, Katherine Goltra ‘27, Annie Egleston ‘27 and Plum Schiff ‘27 raced for the first time this season in the novice 8 race! They had good rowing conditions and did a fantastic job of rowing aggressively the entire way down the course. It was a valuable experience for everyone and all the girls came off the water excited for their next opportunity to race!
Replay of Saturday race.
The racing in Saratoga was a great experience for all, especially as it allowed our entire team to race together at the same event. The team is looking forward to its racing against Hanover High School and Phillips Exeter Academy on May 4! Many thanks to the parents who were able to travel to Saratoga and view the racing!
Click here for race results.