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This article was written by Will Lawrence.
Men's Senior Eight
Mike 'Suicide' Williams, capt. Finnbar Bevan, Oscar Nielsen, Will Lawrence, Olly Ward, Jack Savage, Matt Thrall, Dane Moore.
On the back of the York Head race in November, in which the men's Senior coxed four recorded the fastest time of the day, and the lightweight men's four came a close second in their category, the two boats combined to form an eight for Trent Head.
First of the division two boats to set off, the men's senior eight started with clear water ahead of them, but Oxford Brookes were in hot pursuit as the claxon marked the start of the race. The larger Brookes crew showed their intent with a push on the York boat, powerfully edging closer with each stroke.
As the York and Brookes boat locked horns - quite literally as blades began to clash - the rest of the pack began to fall off the pace.
The Brookes cox took a line that forced the York crew to take the bend wide, and only adjusted as York cox Rosie Winter yelled a tirade of calls. By the end of the bend the Brookes crew had pushed passed, and despite York clawing back several meters, Brookes finished several seconds ahead.
It was frustrating to be taken by Brookes, but we have come on leaps and bounds in the last few weeks.
However as the results of the time trial came in it was clear that the men's eight had lost out only to the Brookes crew, finishing second out of eleven ahead of Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham Universities.
Captain Bevan said: "It was frustrating to be taken by Brookes, but we have come on leaps and bounds in the last few weeks, thanks largely to the shrewd coaching of York City rower Sean Potter."
Potter made a last minute Dan Topolski-like switch to the eight, bow-rigging it, changing the stroke man and existing combination.
Senior Men's Four
Crewed by Pat Jennings, Hugh Price, Joe Campbell, Ben Coverdale and cox Theresa Dolan
Recorded an impressive second place finish in the men's novice four category, setting a time of eleven minutes fifty one seconds.
The crew raced at twenty eight strokes per minute, slightly slower than normal, but compensated by laying down powerful strokes, passing a women's eight and a rival four at speed.
Hugh Price said: "The race was long and hard, but then so were we."
This was freshman Ben Coverdale's first race for the University, who said: "It's a good solid start, definitely sets us up well for the rest of the winter season." Coverdale has joined the club on the back of a successful career at Leeds Rowing Club.
Novice Men's Eight
The novice men's eight, enthusiastically captained by fresher Simon Reed raced for the first time at Trent.
They finished thirteenth out of fifteen. After a series of problems, with the boat largely retarded, they rowed a convincing race. The team was obviously disappointed, but adamant that the result was not a true reflection of the capabilities of the crew.
Reed said: "The boys didn't do as well as we expected but the motivation to improve is not the limiting factor- our training ethic has been exemplary this term."
Second year Miles Whitehead said he was: "disappointed, but not despondent."
Senior Women's Eight
Jillian Tongue, Harriet Edmonds, Alix Odgers, Sophie Mottram, Ryce Chowdhury, Jen Argent, Jennifer Munkley, Joanna Rea and cox Ashley Haycock.
The senior women, most successful of the club's crews last year also decided to form an eight for Trent.
However, the makeshift crew had had little water time on the Ouse to make good due to the persistent flooding during the past month. The crew finished fifth in their category.
Cox Haycock was unhappy with the result, as her crew having won a significant number of races last year. Captain Odgers was a little more optimistic: "There were good parts and bad parts, we just need to iron out the inconsistencies brought out by a relatively new crew combination."
The Trent Head race is a 3700 metre time trial on the River Trent- takes place this time each year, with many of the biggest names in British Rowing taking part from both Universities and clubs.
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