Carolina Has Successful Saturday At Head Of The Charles

Saturday, October 21

Cambridge, Mass.

TBD

North Carolina

Head of the Charles Regatta

The Tar Heels raced Saturday at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta

October 22, 2017 | Women's Rowing

The Tar Heels placed 18th of 40 boats.

By: UNC Athletic Communications

The UNC rowing program went into Saturday's Head of the Charles Regatta with two goals, and returned home having satisfied both. The Tar Heels raced an eight in the prestigious event, on the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass., and finished 18th of 40 boats in the Women's Club Eights category.

"One goal was to put their best foot forward for themselves," UNC coach Sarah Haney said, "and the other was to get us into a better starting position for next year, so we don't need start from the back of the pack. I thought they took care of both of those things and we're excited about that."

The Tar Heel lineup was coxswain Sofia Triana, stroke Maria Marroquin, Sally Stanley, Melanie Hussey, Morgan Donnelly, Kathryn Johnson, Kelly Williams, Caitlin Beakes, and Paige Colpo in the bow seat. UNC's time was 17:44.074, less than a second behind Boston College. For complete results, click here.

The 18th-place finished both earned UNC an invitation for 2018 and ensured that the Tar Heels won't have a back-of-the-pack starting spot like they did for this year's event. "Starting at the back of the pack always proves to be a little more difficult in terms of steering because you've got so many others impeding your course, but I thought Sofia did a fantastic job," Haney said. "The whole boat did a really good job keeping cool and composed in the chaos and we forged or way through."

To make the racing even better, the team enjoyed warm weather and visits from alums while competing in the event, which draws more than 11,000 athletes.

"We had a great weekend," Haney said. "It was a really fun experience to be able to race at the Head of the Charles and we're looking forward to doing it again next year."

Next up for the Tar Heels is the Princeton Chase next Sunday, Oct. 29. Racing will take place on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, N.J.