Murray Edwards College Boat Club
Rowing and sculling club for Murray Edwards College (founded as New Hall)
Invitations to Neptunes Dinner are out! The dinner will take place on 6th February 2016. RSVP until 21st January by emailing boatclub-socials@murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk.
Pembroke Regatta will take place on the same day and we will be entering at least one MECBC/NHBC alumnae boat. Please contact Reana Maier (rgm37@cam.ac.uk) if you are interested in rowing with us before Friday 22nd January.
We look forward to seeing many of you there.
W1
Cox – Joaquina Delas Vives
S – Maria Rust
7 – Abbie Vernon
6 – Laurane Saliou
5 – Emily Busvine
4 – Manuela Gross
3 – Nadia Blackshaw
2 – Emilie Cousin
B – Kate Wilkinson
Coach – Mark Jacobs
W2
Cox – Emily Busvine
S – Chloe Legard
7 – Simona Sulikova
6 – Fatima Baldo
5 – Elodie Burton
4 – Taine Ranaghan
3 – Heather Dudley
2 – Audrey Bellis
B – Oriane Gaillard
Coach – Robert Gardiner
Novice Crews
Hermes
Cox – Rachel To
Emily Davidson
Sushmita Ramanujam
Hope Mason
Amanda Martin Sjodahl
Lilly Anger
Joanne Skinner
Tess Hopkins
Jean Wang
Hannah Yogasudram
Coaches – Simona Sulikova & Will McDermott
Athena
Cox – Fidelia Okandze
Giulia Bollen Gandolfo
Abbey Shaw
Yue Wu
Natalia Hussein
Paivi Pirhonen
Anna Gibbons
Barley Collier Harris
Felicity Parker
Mariella Brown
Juliet Skidmore
Coaches – Nadia Tsao & Olimpia O’Nelli
Hera
Cox – Joanne Skinner
Joy Brown
Yiting Lu
Hannah Adams
Clarrie Pettit
Jennifer Nelson
Sofia Akhtar
Izzy Sgambellone
Rebecca Cuthbert
Rea Duxbury
Coaches – Abbie Vernon & Maria Rust
Aphrodite
Cox – Maria Rust
Anthea Chui
Sara Ali
Chelsea Kaandorp
Olivia Armitage
Amy McCormick
Danielle Craig
Clare Wood
Hannah Cesarani
Juliette Murphy
Linda Lin
Lisa Maria Kreusser
Coaches – Laurane Saliou & Izzy Vyvyan
Nemesis
Cox – Laura Day
Sree Rajeswari
Ai Chun Yeng
Yifu Wang
Zoe Ye
Kerry Salisbury
Ziyan Zhao
Rom Phastanapichai
Susannah da Silva
Linda Lin
Laura Valerie
Jaccaidi
Coaches – Heather Dudley & Chloe Legard
Fairbairns Cup
W1- 16:57.9 – 10th overall – 9th of Cambridge colleges
W2- 19:20.0 – 32nd overall – 6th of W2s
Hermes (NW1)- 13:27.2 – 25th of NW1s – 43rd overall
Athena (NW2)- 13:44.7 – 14th of NW2s – 48th overall
Hera (NW3)- 15:44.5 – 4th of NW3s – 53rd overall
Clare Novices’ Regatta
Athena (NW2) – Lost against Darwin NW1
Emma Sprints
Hera (NW3)- lost first leg against Clare NW2, lost second leg against Homerton NW1
Hermes (NW1)- lost first leg against Emma NW1, won second leg against Trinity Hall NW1
Winter Head
W1- 2nd- 10:35- 5th of Cambridge colleges W1s
W2- 9th- 12:01- 4th of Cambridge college W2s
Queen’s Ergo Competition
NW1 division round 1 (Athena/Hermes) – average split 1:56.9
NW2 division (Aphrodite/Nemesis) – average split 2:10.7
NW1 final (Athena/Hermes) – average split 1:56.6, 11th of 14
During the row down, the boat was slightly unsettled and unbalanced – not the impressive low rate firm paddling that we’ve been working on in our outings. The weather was cold and windy and the river was chaotic with boats and colours from so many different clubs and universities. But we started the race well, winding up to a 29 rate which we kept quite consistently throughout. As we got to the reach, Emily called for more pressure on the legs and the boat started moving really well with lots of cover. Unfortunately we were unsettled from our rhythm by a couple of experienced crews overtaking us and then hitting the dirty water they left behind, so the end of the race was not as composed and powerful as we may have wanted. Overall, the race was a good experience for us in our preparation for Fairbairns, highlighting both technical and fitness points that we need to focus on for the next couple of weeks.
Chloe, stroke
This was the beginning of the end for some of the members of our crew, with two of them graduating after this bumps campaign – we all wanted to do them proud. A good practice start in front of the plough helped ease some of the nerves in the crew as we made our way to station seventeen, but the wait at Baitsbite lock allowed them to creep back in. The four minute cannon fires in the distance, a lot quieter than the roar of the cannon that was heard in Lents from closer to the motorway bridge. We hurry back into the boat and try and calm ourselves. Suddenly the countdown hits 30 seconds remaining and Mark starts to push us out, then bang and we’re off. The start was fast, faster than usual. We settled to rate 38 but it all felt frantic – we can do better than this!
After what seemed like an age we were pulled up on the bank – we had been bumped by an extremely strong Jesus II. This was the first time many of the crew had ever been bumped so it struck a particularly hard blow.
We all felt like we had let ourselves and the crew down, the start we did being nowhere near our best, but with the worst case scenario out of the way, we would enter the next days of bumps better prepared for the stress and the toil that would be awaiting us.
Tomorrow would have to be better. Tomorrow will be better.
Emilie Cousin, 4
Day 2 brought with it hotter weather and a more determined feeling to W2. The row up started solid and we returned to our starting place all ready to finally make up the last foot on Trinity Hall. The last few minutes were tense, with the sun beating down and Robert giving us some last encouraging advice.
The canon went off! As an eight, we surged forward through our start sequence, much more together then the first day. Before we knew it, we had one whistle and Joaquina, our cox, called for another power ten. Within another 30 seconds we had the second whistle and the third came soon after. The whole crew, encouraged by our swift catch up, pulled harder and just as we reached the first corner, the continuous whistle came and finally the complete overlap. It was spectacular as we pulled into the side cheering and overwhelmed. We had bumped Trinity Hall 2 in less than 3 minutes! All of the first days pain was worth it and now that we have experienced success, we are all ready for tomorrow and another bump!
Nadia Blackshaw, 3
The sun was out. Exams were (for some of us, literally just) over. Stash was prepared. W2 were ready to start their 2015 May Bumps campaign.
After a steady row up and encouraging practice start we made our way to Station 6. Being situated very close to the motorway bridge and right on top of the outflow made the start slightly more nerve-racking, but when the almighty cannon was fired we didn’t let it bother us and were ready to put all the hard work into practice.
Despite a slightly less balanced start than we know we are able to do, we went off with a solid row and managed to get one whistle fairly quickly. We knew it was going to be a hard fight, with Trinity Hall 2 not looking to go down without making us work for it. We stayed at about ¾ of a length for quite a while, but after a huge surge of power after Ditton managed to get down to 3 whistles and so close to an overlap. Although we didn’t quite realise it at the time, we were frustratingly close to bumping for the whole final stretch, but in the end had to settle for a well fought row over.
We know we were the faster crew, and we know we can get them, so bring on tomorrow when we will fight even harder for the bump.
Eleanor Gell, 2
The first day of bumps. Even the first time for some of us to ever race in bumps. The atmosphere was tense. But the sunny weather and the encouragement of our cox Emily helped to make it bearable. We rowed proud, better balanced than in most outings towards the starting point. We rowed as a team; full of hope and excitement. Clare Hall in front of us and Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish chasing us. When the canon went off we managed to stay focused. No one panicked, everyone put in their best. We settled into our rhythm and were ready to take on Clare Hall, but before we knew Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish were already dangerously close. We tried really hard, but they gave us no space. They bumped us this time, but we refuse to be defeated. This was our first day of bumps. There are three more days to come, where we will put in our everything and make all the hard work pay off!
Marie-Elena, stroke
The weather was perfect as we moved into position to start our first race of Easter term. The start was good, quick out of the draws and we pushed forward taking the first bend onto the reach. As a crew, we used the straight to settle our rhythm, putting into practice all the techniques worked on each morning. The boat was moving well through the river as we continued to push as hard as we could under the bridge. Far behind, we could now see the next boat racing and Joaquina shouted encouragement at us, one stroke for each crew member and one big push for Robert! We took the next bend a little less stable but quickly recovered for last stretch of the race. As the call came for the final ten strokes, as an eight we swung backwards, lengthening our strokes until the end.
With the call to wind down, we all celebrated, exhausted, knowing that we had completed our first race as a crew in very good form. In the end, we were rewarded for all the early morning starts as we finished first in our division!
Nadia Blackshaw, 3
It was the final day of lent bumps and we were feeling optimistic. We had soon forgotten about the disaster that was Friday and were sure that we would be able to catch Sidney Sussex w2. We had a strong row up, a great practise start on the reach, and we were looking forward to having the foliage in our hair as we triumphantly rowed home.
Unfortunately this was not to be.
As the gun went off and Iila called the draws, we pushed as hard as we could and began gaining on Sidney. Soon enough we heard the sound of one whistle and we carried on pushing. Queens, in front of Sidney, had bumped as Pete predicted, so we had the whole course to catch up with Sidney. However, today would not be our day. Wolfson crashed their boat, meaning that as Sidney overtook them, closely followed by us, they had effectively over-bumped so we had to settle for a row over.
Though disappointed by the result, we were able to row home proudly knowing that there was nothing more we could have done, and that had luck been on our side we may well have bumped. Despite not being presented with foliage, we have had a great time in Lent Bumps and come out of it feeling confident and ready to bump in the summer!
Rosanna Gregory, 6