Three Husky Crews Wrap Up Competition At 2023 Head Of The Charles

Sunday, October 22

Boston, MA

All Day

University of Washington

Head of the Charles

uw women's alumnae crew at 2023 head of the charels

Three Husky Crews Wrap Up Competition At 2023 Head Of The Charles

October 22, 2023 | Women's Rowing

Women's CHAMP 8+ Results Women's CHAMP 4+ Results

BOSTON – Five University of Washington crews – two men's and three women's – wrapped up competition at the 58th annual Head of the Charles Sunday.

The Head of the Charles, the largest three-day regatta in the world, features a three-mile head race (time trials) down the Charles River through the heart of Boston.

In the Women's Championship Eights, the Huskies had two entries.

Washington's first varsity eight finished in 12th place, seventh among college crews, in the 34-boat field. The UW V8+ time was 16:43.007. A U.S. National Team entry, which included UW alums Nina Castagna, Brooke Mooney and Jessica Thoennes, won the race in 16:11.313, as international crews took five of the top-six spots.

The Huskies' second crew finished five spots back of the varsity, with a time of 17:05.353.

"It was really really exciting to get to take three boats to Head of the Charles," said varsity coxswain Grace Murdock. "We were able to start off the season with the full NCAA squad and take the first step together as a team. We are all excited to keep finding more speed as through the rest of fall, winter, and spring."

"It was a race of many adventures and we learned a lot about how we operate," Murdock continued. "We wanted to take a risk off the line and trust that we could go out harder than we expected, and we were really proud of how we accomplished that goal."

The Huskies Women's Championship Fours entry finished 13th in a field of 22 in its event, and 11th among collegiate crews, as the California Rowing Club (veteran international rowers from the U.S. and Australia) and the Ukrainian National team took the top two spots overall.

Washington also entered two boats in the top men's race, the Championship Eights, including one crew rowing in a shell made to resemble the "Husky Clipper" rowed by the UW's 1936 varsity eight that won Olympic Gold and is the focus of the upcoming motion picture, "The Boys In The Boat," which will open on Christmas Day.

The Huskies' varsity eight crew finished the men's event in eighth place overall, in a field of 27 crews, with a final time of 14:41.399. A U.S. National Team crew was the winner (14:21.484), and a British crew finished fourth, meaning the UW's top crew was sixth among college programs.

The "Boys In The Boat" crew crossed the finish in 15th place, with a time of 14:58.596.

On Saturday, a crew of UW women's team alumnae (pictured) won the Women's Alumnae Eights race, topping a field of 50 entries, while a crew of Huskies also finished second, out of 47, in the Men's Alumni Eights.

Next up for both the UW men and women is the 43rd annual Head of the Lake, contested on Lake Union and Lake Washington in Seattle on Nov. 5.

Washington Lineups:

Women's Championship Eights

Varsity Eight
Cox: Grace Murdock
Stroke: Nikki Martincic
7: Olivia Hay
6: Angharad Broughton
5: Christiana Congdon
4: Cait Whittard
3: Jordan Freer
2: Shakira Mirfin
Bow: Leah Nash

Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Olivia Murdock
Stroke: Mira Calder
7: Paris Burbine
6: Grace Vander Griend
5: Isabel van Opzeeland
4: Abby Adebiyi
3: Caitlin Bentley
2: Ava Mueleman
Bow: Jess Weir

Women's Championship Fours

Cox: Athena Baches
Stroke: Grace Epp
3: Sophie Sand
2: Jane Cox
Bow: Eliza Perry