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Eights Week 2017

Summer Eights 2017 – race reports

Not quite three months of peaceful training on the river and here we are for Eights Week! With M3 successfully rowing on last Friday, four crews in maroon (well… maybe fuchsia, depending on whether you ordered the latest round of kit with that colour accident) are aiming to bump up.

The following reports were written during the week and distributed on the alumni Facebook group
 
Wednesday

M1 on their way to bump St Anne's on Friday
M1 on their way to bump St Anne’s on Friday – © Gareth Ardron

M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 1] -1
With a motley crew of some of the guys fancying a summer paddle and veterans of “the tree” the Women’s 2nd Torpid (nowadays colloquially known on the river as “doing a Merton”) braved both rowing on, clocking in the last qualifying time of the day which both qualified them but saddled them with the misfortune of inheriting last year’s bungline. Now squaring off against St Hilda’s M2 who qualified 25 seconds ahead of them, fight was valiant, but unfortunately short and the division headship had to be handed over. Though St Hilda’s failing to bump up as sandwich boat allows a chance for revenge tomorrow.

M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 11] – row over
With a strong start from a difficult bungline M2 had closed hard and fast on their Brasenose counterpart. At Salter’s a mere quarter length separated the Merton boat from the Brasenose stern which quickly became just a canvas even decreasing to a foot or two as they shot Donnington Bridge. Unfortunately, the last few centimetres are the hardest to close and with crews nearly evenly match, the race rhythm and composure showed tenacity and the hard training, but left both crews returning to the same bunglines tomorrow. Hopefully the row will be shorter and will come to a sudden, bumpy, end.

M1 [MDiv3 – bungline 2] – row over
Looking sharp and composed during the warm up M1 was looking to clear Exeter out of the way in order to be able to bump up into the next division. A concerted effort and strong and solid row, closing in onto Exeter showed a crew set up well for the bump with good coxing line at difficult corners, but Exeter, for today, escaped the Merton bow. With Exeter not being able to capitalise on their row over, the battle for division headship and the chance to move up is back on tomorrow.

W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 9] -1
In their freshly refurbished and bright-purple Joe Virden, the Women’s 1st Eight challenged the Magdalen and Linacre women in WDiv2. Unfortunately, the strong graduate crew from Linacre proved the better one of the day W1 will have to look for their bungline one further down tomorrow.

 
Thursday

Round up of day two of Summer Eights: a rather mixed day for Mertonians, but some good rowing nonetheless. The weather continues to hold beautifully.

M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 2] -1
Despite a variation in line-up due to injury, M3 put in good showing in the first division of the day. After a great start and a good settle the crew found a strong rhythm as they pushed upstream under Donnington Bridge. Balliol M4 – a blades-tapped Schools Eight – unfortunately made an early appearance alongside. Despite concession, the large speed differential led to Balliol running over the Merton stern, lodging themselves firmly in the rudder yoke and spinning M3 into the bank. It wasn’t pretty. The tally on the Merton side is a bent rudder stem and yoke and a shared-off bow ball. Presumably the Balliol bow will have need for a few patches as well.
With strong crew improvements, despite the downward slope on the bumps charts, the crew is looking forward to the remainder of the week.

M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 11] -1
Today St Hilda’s men took revenge for last year when the 2nd VIII had inflicted the first bump on them since they started fielding men’s crews. A kerfuffle with crews in front, both Brasenose M2 and Osler House had different interpretations of “clearing the racing line” necessitated some hard rudder whereas St Hilda’s could make use of a slightly straighter gaining hard. Unfortunately, an appeal led to no avail and M2 will be starting from the unfavourable bungline 12 tomorrow.

M1 [MDiv3 – bungline 2] +2
The men’s 1st VIII had not only one, but two chances to showcase them putting the hard training of the last months to good use. After a strong start and closing hard onto Exeter, the gap was merely half a length at the entrance of the Gut, having closed it to a canvas by the time both crews raced past Longbridges further upstream along Green Bank. While it nearly looked like to be a replay of yesterday, Exeter had to bow to a strong row from the men up Green Bank. Oriel M2 did not stand a chance and Merton has now returned to MDiv2 after nearly a decade of absence.

W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 11] -1
In true Merton spirit with the boats improving even during the race weeks, the women’s 1st VIII had made it to Top Gut until they had to concede to LMH despite rowing and chunky rhythm. Tomorrow they will have Exeter on their tails who will try and avenge their men being taken down by Merton M1 today.

 
Friday

On the third day fortunately for one boat, unfortunately for all others, the trends of the earlier days were continued. A bonus for all boats was the continued amazing weather and the banks being more and more filled with spectators cheering on the racing crews.

M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 3] -1
Our fun mixed boat is unfortunately placed with several schools Eights around them. As such they had to concede just after Donnington Bridge to a powerful St Catz pushing them to start a bungline further down for the last races. 

M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 12] -1
One of those days when planned race (quick start, settle to pace, pushing off Donnington Bridge, speeding up green Bank and catching St Hilda’s at Boathouse Island) was somewhat different to the reality. St Hilda’s bumped out quickly on a slow mixed Osler House crew ahead and Lincoln raced up from behind. A bow on stern bump as M2 was the result. Clearing the race line under full power, the Osler House cox was fearing another bump, but the well-trained crew’s responsiveness prevented that. The next race should be the best one of the week.

W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 11] -1
A slightly rocky start did not stop the women from gaining 1/4 length on LMH quickly whose start seemed to be less determined than yesterday. As the crews settled unfortunately Exeter W1 were out for revenge for their men being bumped by M1 yesterday and charged up the bunglines. A valiant push held them at bay for some lengths but the bump was indisputable right before shooting under Donnington Bridge. The last races are now to stave off the dreaded soup implements.

M1 on their way to bump Exeter on Saturday – © Gareth Ardron
M1 on their way to bump Exeter on Saturday – © Gareth Ardron

M1 [MDiv2 – bungline 13] +1
A quick start a high-paced but short race: St Anne’s had nothing to show and M1’s powerful rhythm and speed and had to concede in the Gut.

 
Saturday

The final day of Eights week was a very eventful one, fortunately none of the Merton crews were involved in any of the (multitude of) crashes which happened. We had two full boat evacuations, even MDiv1 had to be klaxoned due to a severe crash in the Gut. Luckily the Magdalen cox is alright, though their brand new Empacher is less so. Both Headship crews rowed over meaning Christ Church are holding it for the men and Wadham for the women.

M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 4] -1
As every day, our motley crew of M3 paddled to the bunglines. Having been relegated three times so far in the bungline fight, the plan was to not continue last year’s trajectory and collect spoons. Unfortunately, Keble M4 was chasing and since their two coaches, both ex-Oriel M1 rowers one of whom rowed Isis, decided to sub into the crew our valiant M3 had no chance. At least Keble spend some money of their rather deep pockets on a set of wooden spoons which were presented to our crew.

M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 13] +5
A rather surprising reversal of fortune brought M2 significantly back into the plus today by achieving a double over bump. With Lincoln M2 ahead who had a very likely bump on Osler House, the expectation was to fight for the row-over. The chasing Regent’s Park already having rowed over as head of MDiv5 were now pursuing both their blades and a promotion to MDiv4. They had closed to overlap by Donnington Bridge. A series of pushes, only few feet of manoeuvring space through the Gut, M2 never had more than a canvas of breathing room from the chasing Regent’s who gained overlap again at Longbridges. A forced early crossing due to bumped-out crew having wrongly cleared to Green Bank, the final move was made at Univ raft. The chase was broken, clear water opened up and M2 powered to the line. A row to their true potential and credit to their training.
Much to everyone’s surprise, no successful row-over was announced on the tannoy, but a bump on Brasenose M2 instead. While Brasenose (having started on bungline 8) claims to have been wedged in by crews bumping out ahead of them and promptly appealed, their attempt to disguise their lack of coxing skills by blaming others was discovered and the bump upheld, thus creating a double over-bump in favour of M2 leaving them net +3 for Eights Week!

W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 12] -1
A great start allowed W1 to reel LMH slightly back in with the Wolfpack of Wolfson W2, the highest-placed ladies’ 2nd VIII, hot on their heels. The brief hopes of not repeating ourselves were squashed despite a good fight. The bump came just before Donnington Bridge. Despite another addition to W1’s collection of cutlery particularly suitable for the soup course, the week ended on a positive note as the crew put in a strong effort and plans for resurgence after the long vac with strong autumn and winter training are already afoot.

M1 [MDiv2 – bungline 12] +1
In a fantastic continuation of the previous days, M1 bumped up and decisively so: Pembroke M2 was caught under Donnigton Bridge. A very good performance reeled in Pembroke throughout the bunglines and this was an excellent end to Summer Eights. Not only did the crew bump up a division, but by sending Pembroke to the bottom of the division has now surpassed the highest-placed 2nd VIII on the river as well as becoming the most senior boat in the club. The only frustration of the week was the row-over on Wednesday, meaning that the crew did not repeat last year’s success of winning blades.

W1 warming up on Saturday
W1 warming up on Saturday

 

Overall summary for this year’s Eights:

M1: ±0/+2/+1/+1
Start: 2nd Div III
Finish: 11th Div II
 
M2: ±0/-1/-1/+5
Start: 11th Div V
Finish: 8th Div V
 
M3: -1/-1/-1/-1
Start: 1st Div VII
Finish: 5th Div VII
 
W1: -1/-1/-1/-1
Start: 9th Div II
Finish: 13th Div II
 
Men’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
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7
Stroke
Cox
 
 
Men’s
Bow
2
3
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5
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7
Stroke
Cox
 
 
Men’s
Bow
 
2
3
 
4
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7
 
 
Stroke
 
Cox
 
 
 
1st Eight
Lukas Koch
Jaime Valdemoros Gomez
Frederick Crowley
Mate Kovacs-Deak
Jacob White
Jacob Cushnie
Mantas Abazorius
Samuel Picard
Katherine Davies
 
 
2nd Eight
Tom Murphy
Paul de Jong
Verena Schenzinger
Ryan Burke
Lukas Krone
Michael Bruckner
Christian Wilmes
Andrius Ovsianas
Tyson Rallens
 
 
3rd Eight
Daniel Sherlock
Josie Western
Tito Bastianello
Andrew Kenyon-Roberts
Yuri Van Nieuwerk
Tyson Rallens
Piotr Khrkowski
Edwin Lock
Josie Western
Georgina Fooks
Laura Hankins
Lily McElwee
Carla Schmelzer
Rebecca Henzel
Daniel Kennedy
Paris Jaggers
Tif Brydges
Women’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
 
 
1st Eight
Kirsty Mitchell
Venla Karpinnen
Sinead Duffy
Phoebe Pexton
Charlotte Oakes
Frances Des Forges
Esther Borsi
Josephine Smith
Tom Murphy
 
 
Categories
Bumps Oxford

Torpids 2017

Torpids race reports

An exceptionally sunny and reasonably dry Hilary Term with only three days of red flag in early February meant that Torpids was hotly contested as all clubs had ample time to get their crews on the water. Despite this one club decided not to field any men’s boats at all, Merton fielded a second women’s Torpid for the first time since 2013. Successfully qualifying in rowing on, four boats were vying for success during the week.

The following reports were written on the day an distributed on the alumni Facebook group
 

2017_Torpids_Crews
Torpids 2017 crews (from the top left clockwise) M1, W1, W2, M2

Wednesday
W2 [WDiv 5 – bungline 12] + 1
The boat to start everything off technically started their Torpids campaign last Friday already. Their qualification in Rowing On ensured Merton having a second Women’s Torpid for the first time since 2013. Despite them having to start at a very unfavourable bungline in the bay between the Isis Tavern and Isis Boathouse and having a crew which was faster in rowing on placed behind them, they managed to capitalise on Exeter’s start and the subsequent unrest with a bump.
 
M2 [MDiv 5 – bungline 6] + 2
After last year, the unexpected drop out of both Magdalen men’s crews which had fixed division bunglines allowed M2 to rise a further two bunglines before the first racing stroke was even taken. Undeterred they continued the game of chasing down Wolfson M3. After eluding the M2 last year, this years crew was finally able to garner themselves a wolf pelt. The navigational skill took M2 past Wolfson who seemingly favoured a closer inspection of the river bank.
A particularly skilful St Hugh’s M2 being handed down half the division gave M2 another boost, leaving them on bungline 4 for tomorrow.
 
W1 [WDiv 3 – bungline 10] +1
W1 bumped St Peter’s W1. The first Torpids bump since Thursday of Torpids 2015 and only the second one since 2012. This could be a turning point!
 
M1 [MDiv 2 – bungline 9] -1
Unfortunately M1 could not complete the day in the same fashion the other crews had. While pushing LMH very hard off the start and closing down considerable distance on them, Keble chased M1 hard off the gun and caught up with them just after Donnington Bridge. A slight fluster during the concession allowed LMH to run away a little bit which M1 was unfortunately not quite able to close again and was left with the arduous row over.
 
Overall a very decent day for Merton rowers at Torpids, especially considering the training constraints under flag and the last-minute crew changes in W1 and W2. Three more days and many more chances for bumps.

Thursday
The second day of Torpids 2017 was another solid performance from the Boat Club. Still continuing overall in the plus and two crews with chances of further glory!
 
W2 [WDiv 5 – bungline 11] +1
A rocky start allowed Exeter to close to nearly a canvas to which a crab contributed, but was quickly recovered. Once more it showed that bumps racing is a mix of skill, luck, and lack of skill on part of the opposition. Passing Keble W2 who had already bumped, Exeter’s blades clashed with theirs which gave W2 to the necessary breathing room to gain their composure and push for the bump. After 500m W2’s race was over as St Hilda’s W2 conceded at the entrance to the Gut.
 
M2 [MDiv 5 – bungline 4] -1
After a successful first day, the foreshadowed results from the Isis Winter League in which Regent’s Park M1 posted a considerably fast time came to be today. M2 had to concede though showed a strong and determined row thereafter, making successful inroads for an over bump on Trinity M3 though unfortunately not quite able to close the last gap.
 
W1 [WDiv 3 – bungline 9] +1
After years of having to balance the previous crews having been very strong, W1 has now seemingly found its place, though not quite its equilibrium. After a long row pushing the crew to their limits, W1 bumped Corpus Christi W1 at the top end of Boathouse Island. No amount of running across the river by Corpus, nor the last-minute crab in Merton’s stroke seat could stop W1 from claiming their second bump of the week.
 
M1 [MDiv2 – bungline 10] rowed over
With a solid start M1 tried to avenge yesterdays bumps on them. Settling into a strong pace the crew followed the ideal race line out of the Gut and up Greenbank while both Keble and LMH ahead were chasing up the towpath side. A push to make inroads on Keble along Greenbank and in the crossing did unfortunately not cover the necessary distance. With Keble bumping Worcester at the top of Boathouse Island, todays hard row over will hopefully be somewhat balanced by (hopefully) a bump on Worcester, who so far have -7 to their name, tomorrow.

Friday
Some say the third day is the hardest of bumps racing. Today certainly proved to be a trialling one for Merton rowers.
 
W2 [WDiv5 – bungline 10] -3
A solid start marred by a slight scrape on the bank. While pushing away from St Hilda’s W2 and closing distance to Christ Church W2, unfortunately 4 seat caught a boat stopper crab. With a full restart W2 manage to once again close Christ Church W2 down to overlap in the Gut, but this time 3 seat decided it was time for a crayfish break. Recovery at race pace, pressure steering, and hard rudder should have brought the crew out of the Gut… Should have since a solid crunch heard all the way to racedesk at Longbridges Boathouse indicated W2 had tried the overland shortcut. The safety launches extracted the bow three rowers before safely towing the boat stern first from the bank. All rowers are safe and despite everything the total tally is one bent backstay in bow seat.
For completeness sake: being stuck in a tree on top of the bank resulted in crews bumping by row past. As coveted the footship of Torpids may be, onwards and upwards tomorrow.
 
M2 [MDiv5 – bungline 5] -1
Being chased by a strong Wolfson crew, the M2 went off with the gun and held the hungry wolves until the Middle Gut when they had to concede. Blatantly ignoring the coxing strategy of W2, a smooth line out of the Gut took M2 along the course while being chased down by LMH M2. Knowing when to run and which line to take is an important part of bumps coxing and with running away across the river and holding them at a canvas, M2 crossed the finish line denying LMH M2 their blades potential. For tomorrow the chase with LMH M2 is back in the cards, but there is also Trinity M3 being handed down.
 
W1 [WDiv3 – bungline 8] rowed over
With a plummeting Corpus behind W1 acting as a very generous buffer, the boat went in for the long-haul race chasing St Hilda’s. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a long-haul for good and both crews rowed over the whole course. Same set-up at the bunglines tomorrow, though since Corpus has disappeared into WDiv4, St Antony’s W1 will be lining up on bungline 9.
 
M1 [MDiv2 – bungline 10] +1
Once more M1 is somewhat bucking the trend of the other boats, this time fortunately going upwards. A bump on Worcester in Middle Gut placed M1 back onto its starting bungline of the week. All this happened undeterred by the cox box issues leaving the valiant cox with having to shout at the crew (and the poor stroke having to take the brunt of it). A short race in Torpids is a successful race. Tomorrow the crew will be tasked with chasing down LMH while holding Exeter at bay who are trying to get blades having come up from MDiv3.

Saturday
W2 [WDiv5 – bungline 13] +1
Having been somewhat tree-related relegated to the foot of the river, W2 made solid start despite the crosswinds. St Hilda’s W2 bumping out before Donnington Bridge left W2 chasing Exeter W2 whom they had already bumped once on Wednesday. Steadily closing distance and being at half a length coxing into the Gut, this time the tree was given a wide berth a text book push out of the Gut sealed the over bump on Exeter W2 outside Longbridges.
 
M2 [MDiv5 – bungline 6] rowed over due to klaxon
After a strong start and tidy rowing, M2 was set to push hard again on Wolfson M3 having reeled them in already to 3/4 of a length by Donnington Bridge, the crew got robbed of success on the last day by a klaxon due to swans in the race line.
 
W1 [WDiv3 – bungline 8] rowed over
Chasing St Hilda’s W1 once again but holding off a strong St Antony’s W1 at the same time showed that W1 has settled into more sustainable realms of the bumps tables. With not many boats having bumped out, the race was still going strong coming out of the Gut by which stage St Antony’s had cut the distance to W1’s stern to a mere half length. Seemingly having spent their pennies though, St Antony’s got lost slowly but steadily ground again along Greenbank though the final verdict can only be speculated: a St Hilda’s rower decided that the sunshine and all the spectators were enticing enough to opt for a race-pace Cambridge swim test leaving the second of our crews in one day victim to a klaxon.
 
M1 [MDiv2 – bungline 9] rowed over
On the final day M1 was once more left with chasing down LMH on whom they had closed considerably on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the start and leading up to Donnington Bridge was not quite matching LMH who added a tiny bit of distance onto the starting lengths. That being said, strong race rhythm pushed the crew along the course and leaving Exeter, who were chasing for blades, behind in their wash. A strong row-over ended the Torpids on the starting bungline of the week.
 

Overall summary for this years Torpids:

M1: -1/±0/+1/±0
Start: 9th Div II
Finish: 9th Div II
 
M2: +2/-1/-1/±0
Start: 6th Div V
Finish: 6th Div V
 
W1: +1/+1/±0/±0
Start: 10th Div III
Finish: 8th Div III
 
W2: +1/+1/-3/+1
Start: 12th Div V
Finish: 12th Div V
 
Men’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
 
 
Men’s
Bow
2
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Stroke
Cox
 
1st Torpid
Mantas Abazorius
Lukas Koch
Lukas Krone
Frederick Crowley
Jaime Valdemoros Gomez
Jacob White
Samuel Picard
Thomas Lousada
Tyson Rallens
 
 
2nd Torpid
Andrius Ovsianas
Wilfred Ngia
Mate Kovacs-Deak
Michael Bruckner
Daniel Kennedy
Ryan Burke
Christian Wilmes
Tom Murphy
Jame Valdemoros Gomoz
 
Women’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
 
 
Women’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
 
1st Torpid
Venla Karpinnen
Phoebe Pexton
Esther Borsi
Frances Des Forges
Kirsty Mitchell
Josephine Smith
Paris Jaggers
Rebecca Hardy
Daniel Whittle
 
 
2nd Torpid
Hilary Cockhill (JEO)
Georgina Fooks
Julia Zlotkowska
Jessica Phillips
Verena Schenzinger
Charlotte Oakes
Carla Schmelzer
Rebecca Henzel
Edward Thomas
 
Categories
Bumps Oxford

Summer Eights 2016

Successful Summer Eights!

2016_EightsM1Sat

Merton crews have had a highly successful Eights campaign, including blades for the Men’s 1st VIII (the first since 1999)! This follows a year in which the Men’s side of Merton College Boat Club in particular has benefited from excellent coaching under Ian Smith and has been able to build on successes earlier in Michaelmas and then during Torpids. The rowers were ably supported by large crowds, particularly on Saturday, when Warden, Dean, and Chaplain, as well as numerous other fellows, were at the boathouse.

Saturday of Eights Week was rounded off with the annual Eights Dinner, this year featuring a naming ceremony for the latest edition to the Merton fleet. .

W1

The Women’s side of the Boat Club has had another challenging year on the water. W1 started at 5th in Div.2, but were chased by a series of high quality, experienced and much more powerful crews. They were bumped by Trinity, St. Anne’s, and Mansfield on the first three days, though showed considerable composure and determination in the face of difficult odds. On Saturday, the crew were chased hard by a good Catz outfit and unfortunately had to concede spoons. However, as coach Ian Smith said at the dinner, the women have improved rapidly this year and are still high on the river. There is a good group of your members who will be able to compete for another two years and next year will hopefully bring some good new recruits. .

[Bumped by: Trinity, St Anne’s, Mansfield, St Catz]

Overall summary for this years Summer Eights (women’s crew):

W1: -1/-1/-1/-1
Start: 5th Div II
Finish: 9th Div II
W
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
1st Eight
Dan Whittle
Caitlin Armstrong
Anna Stepashova
Kailan Sierra-Davison
Rebecca Hardy
Alice Love-Twelves
Verena Schenzinger
Josie Smith
Sinead Duffy

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

M1

With only one change from a crew which was disappointed after Torpids (+1 overall), the M1 made sure to capitalise on its good starting position at 6th in Div.3. The four days proceeded relatively simply, with strong bumps on New II, Christ Church II and Corpus Christi on the first three days of racing. The only notable drama was cox Toby Adkins’s Hollywood-style ‘abandon ship’ during a series of tangles on Thursday. The race was klaxoned, but thankfully Merton had already secured the bump. While M1 had to row slightly more than half the course on Friday when bumping Corpus Christi along Greenbank, they were left chasing a flagging St. Peter’s crew on Saturday, which they closed down on just out of the Gut.

[Bumped: New II, Christ Church II, Corpus Christi, St. Peter’s]

M2
2016_EightsM2Sat

M2 secured Merton’s first blades since 2011 at Torpids and were able to keep most of their crew together for Eights – the notable changes being former M1 stroke Alex Moore joining the crew and cox Henrik Hannemann leaving to row with M1. Despite a late substitution, they continued exactly as they left off, rowing over at the top of Div 5 before bumping St. Hilda’s on Wednesday and St. John’s II on Thursday. Unfortunately, they were denied another shot at blades on Friday, as Green Templeton bumped out in front before Merton could catch them. Nonetheless, M2 made significant inroads into the large gap separating them and the next live crew on the river as they rowed over. Saturday brought a slight change to the crew but they rapidly caught Worcester II, going +3 for Eights.

[Bumped: St. Hilda’s, St. John’s II, Worcester II]

M3

Merton’s M3 has, for the past few years, been the only SCR crew on the river and has fared well. This year, unfortunately, a number of the regulars have been on sabbatical, so M3 became a mixed casual crew. The lack of Olympian tutors was telling and M3 secured Merton’s second set of spoons for the week, being bumped by Balliol III, Jesus IV (the Vikings), St. Anthony’s II and University IV. They provided an excellent sporting light touch to our Eights crews and were gutsy, given that they were surrounded by established all-men’s beer boats. Meanwhile, we await the return of the SCR rowers from publishing books.

[Bumped by: Balliol III, Jesus IV, St Antony’s II, Univ IV]

Overall summary for this years Summer Eights (men’s crews):

M1: +1/+1/+1/+1
Start: 6th Div III
Finish: 2nd Div III
 
M2: row over & +1/+1/row over/+1
Start: 1st Div V
Finish: 11th Div IV
 
M3: -1/-1/-1/-1
Start: 13th Div VI
Finish: 4th Div VII
 
M
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
1st Eight
Toby Adkins
Tom Lousada
Sam Picard
Henrik Hannemann
Ben Holden
Jacob White
Jaime Valdemoros
Mantas Abazorios
Edward Thomas
M
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
2nd Eight
Tiffany Brydges
Alexander Moore
Lukas Koch/ Ian Dawes
Michael Withers
Stefan Marjanovic
Benedict Halbroth/ Lukas Koch
Ryan Burke
Frederick Crowley
Oliver Pateman
M
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
3rd Eight
Tyson Rallens
Tiffany Brydges
Yang Cao (SHG)
Mohamed Dashan
Miklos Hajnal
Phoebe Pexton
Kirsty Mitchell / Robin Auer
Georgina Fooks / Marcello Cattaneo
Josie Western
Categories
Bumps Oxford Social

Eights Dinner 2016

Eights and Alumni Dinner

2016_ChesterWhite

Our annual Eights Dinner was, as ever, a very enjoyable way to round off the week of rowing. On top of the usual drinks reception and dinner, we celebrated the contributions of Old Mertonian Dr Chester White MBE to the Boat Club. Chester came to Merton in 1952 to read Medicine and was a keen rower. His crew mates included Harry (Hugh) Quick, after whom our men’s first shell is named. Chester has since been at Darwin College, Cantab., where he founded and is President of the boat club. Nonetheless, he has been a constant figure in Merton College Boat Club, sitting on the Friends’ Committee for many years and supporting us generously.

Chester was invited to christen the ‘Chester White’ as part of the drinks reception, the second boat in his personal fleet (the other being an eight at Darwin). The boat was purchased at the beginning of Michaelmas Term and can be rowed both as a 4- and as a 4X-. It has given the Club greater flexibility with training and is in excellent condition, after a small renovation and repainting by boatman, Mark Seal.

The dinner was rounded off by speeches from the Warden, Sir Martin Taylor, from Chester, and from the Men’s and Women’s captains, Edward Thomas and Kailan Sierra-Davison. A fantastic time was had by all.

Categories
Bumps Oxford Torpids 2016

Torpids 2016

Torpids race reports

Sixth week brought Torpids and the return of the MCBC results chalkboard to the Lodge. Following a difficult term’s preparation, including several periods without water training, Merton fielded three strong crews. Huge thanks are due, as ever, to our coach Ian Smith for his efforts with all crews, and to those who came down over the course of the regatta to support the rowers.

Men’s 1st Torpid

© B. Beor-Roberts (Masterstroke)
© B. Beor-Roberts (Masterstroke)

Following a very successful Michaelmas and start to Hilary, M1 looked to build on last year’s four bumps and climb higher in Div. II. They started off with a convincing bump on Queen’s, confirming student press circulation that they were a crew to look out for. A thrilling second day’s racing, in which Merton were within a canvas of Brasenose, ended with a last-gasp bump by an excellent Mansfield crew. Pride was restored, however, with an overbump on Brasenose on Friday, the regatta ending with a row-over on Saturday.

Although the crew only went +1 over the week, they demonstrated solid technique and cohesion, and showed that Merton can compete in the top twenty boat clubs on the water. Provided the crew remains intact for Trinity term, they will be looking to work on intensive fitness training and, sitting in Division III, should aim for blades.

Women’s 1st Torpid

© B. Beor-Roberts (Masterstroke)
© B. Beor-Roberts (Masterstroke)

Merton’s women fielded a young crew, half of whom were competing in their first bumps race. That said, the other four members of the crew boast considerable experience, as did their cox, current Secretary and three-time W1 rower, Laura King. The crew were unlucky to be among excellent crews, being bumped on the first two days and again on Saturday. On the Friday, however, they showed composure and good fitness to row over and should go into Trinity looking to develop the younger members of the team. It is definitely work in progress, but next year will surely see a return to success for W1.

 
Men’s 2nd Torpid

Having come second in rowing-on, and boasting a strong crew with ability reaching novices from this year to previous first boat rowers, the crew knew that they had a good chance of blades. Having bumped up into Division V on Wednesday, they proceeded to earn blades in style, achieving their final bump on Saturday just short of the boat house. A fuller account of M2’s regatta is available in this apposite bit of Virgil: ‘Extremos pudeat rediisse‘.

Immense thanks are due to Henrik Hannemann, long-term M1 rower and former Club Treasurer, who coxed, coached and trained an excellent crew.

Overall summary for this years Torpids and crews:

M1: +1/-1/+1/row over
Start: 11th Div II
Finish: 10th Div II
 
M2: +3/+1/+1/+1
Start: 2nd Div VI
Finish: 8th Div V
 
W1: -2/-2/row over/-2
Start: 4th Div III
Finish: 10th Div III
 

 

M
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
1st Torpid
Toby Adkins
Tom Lousada
Sam Picard / Henrik Hannemann
Alex Moore
Jaime Valdemoros
Jacob White
Ben Holden
Mantas Abazorios
Edward Thomas
M
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
2nd Torpid
Henrik Hannemann
Lukas Koch
Ian Dawes
Michael Withers
Mate Kovacs-Deaks
Benedict Halbroth
Miklos Hajnal
Frederick Crowley
Oliver Pateman
W
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
1st Torpid
Laura King / Toby Adkins
Amanda Thomas
Caitlin Armstrong / Phoebe Pexton
Kailan Sierra-Davidson
Rebecca Hardy
Josie Smith
Kirsty Mitchell
Georgina Fooks
Josie Western
Categories
Bumps Oxford

M2 Torpids 2016

Merton 2nd Torpid 2016 – addition to the blades collection!

IMG_0865Only just back from the Christmas vacation, Torpids training started in earnest. With the crews selected, the 2nd Torpid boasted a wide variety of rowing experience from several years to having been roped into rowing merely a couple of months earlier. We had four weeks until we had to prove what we are made of. Despite a moody river, training progressed well on land, in the rowing tank, and on the water whenever the river level allowed us a proper outing.

Rowing On was the first time (and fortunately with hindsight the last time) we had to row over the whole course. With 3 min 7.5 sec the crew posted the second best time after Lady Margaret Hall II. With a solid performance and a clear aim ahead we went into race week, acknowledged as a very good crew, a force to be reckoned with.

On the first day, starting off bungline two, we caught up with Exeter II in the Gut, but also LMH II, who were marginally quicker than us in Rowing On, did not pose a threat at any point in this race. Having bumped to the top of the division, the sandwich race promised to be an exciting one. Before we had even reached Donnington Bridge, Wolfson III had caught up with Mansfield II while St Hilda’s I had already bumped out on St John’s III. The four crews starting in front of us had either bumped or got entangled. The Mansfield cox had not conceded in time which got the crew entangled and due to fantastic reactions from the rowers, hard rudder, and a bit of ‘hope and pray’, we managed to squeeze our eight through the gap and bump Mansfield II by row past.

After the exciting first day, we had to reschedule as we were now rowing in Men’s Division V. While lining up behind and being ready to chase down Wolfson III, yet again we were faced with crews plummeting down and others bumping out. With a clean side-to-side contact, we bumped Pembroke III who had started three places above us at the top of the Gut.

The plan for day three was rather simple: keep doing what we had been doing and bump the next crew in our way. On Thursday this was Worcester II who also had started three bunglines ahead. While St Hilda’s I had closed them down early before the Gut, Wolfson III bumped them at the beginning of Greenbanks which left us with a couple of more strokes until we had bumped them, too.

On Saturday everyone had one word in mind – blades. Having closed down on Wolfson III on all previous days but always having been denied the bump, we hoped to complete our task today. Unfortunately, once more another crew foiled that attempt, but bumping Regent’s Park in sight of the boathouses in the crossing made a glorious conclusion to a successful Torpids campaign.

Within six weeks the oarsmen came together and showed what committed training and a clear aim can mean: return to fixed divisions and gain blades while doing so!

Men’s
Cox
Stroke
7
6
5
4
3
2
Bow
2nd Torpid
Henrik Hannemann
Lukas Koch
Ian Dawes
Michael Withers
Mate Kovacs-Deak
Benedict Halbroth
Miklos Hajnal
Frederick Crowley
Oliver Pateman
 
Coach
Boatman
 
Bumps
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
 
 
Ian Smith
Mark Seal
 
 
Exeter II & Mansfield II
Pembroke III
Worcester II
Regent’s Park
 
 

Photo by F Money

Categories
Bumps Oxford Regatta Social

Final round up of the year

Final round up of the year

Summer Eights finished off the traditional rowing term, we are looking back at a fantastic dinner and great fun on the Isis. Thank you to all those who have supported the Boat Club over the last year. Same as for all previous years, both Eights and Torpids crews can be found in our crew archive. To round off, the reports below are from the outgoing Men’s and Women’s Captains and were originally published in the Postmaster

Overall summary for this years Summer Eights:

M1: RO/-1/RO/+1 [overall level]
Start: 6th Div III
Finish: 6th Div III

M2: -1/-1/-1/RO [overall -3]
Start: 11th Div IV
Finish: 1st Div V

M3: RO/RO/-1/RO [overall -1]
Start: 4th Div VII
Finish: 5th Div VII

W1: -1/-1/-1/-1 [Spoons]
Start: 1st Div II
Finish. 5th Div II

W2:
not fielded, -4 for next year

2015_EightsDinner

Men’s Rowing

Michaelmas began with a strong push to recruit novices, with rowing drinks and taster sessions. Both were a success, and the year began with almost as many novices as senior rowers. At the end of the year, half of each of the men’s first and second boats were made up of students in their first year of training. Our new coach, Ian Smith, came with high recommendations and proved to be an excellent asset. We also retained an impressive roster of oarsmen from the previous year, with 20 senior rowers – including two who trialled with OULRC in Michaelmas. The term mainly consisted of extensive technical outings geared specifically towards racing in Autumn Fours, which was the first chance for us to witness the progress of our returning senior rowers. Our men’s Four beat LMH in the first round of Autumn Fours. Unfortunately they lost in the second round to a strong Balliol crew. The other half were back in a double for more racing, sweeping aside a strong boat from Brasenose to storm into the final by three boat lengths. Sadly, they were defeated in the final by a pair of lightweight blues rowers.
In Hilary, crews were sent to the Isis Winter League D in an Eight and a coxed Four, with the Eight coming 17th of 39 in their class and the Four coming third of four in their class. Torpids brought great results for the men’s first boat. An unsatisfying first day, with a technical row over, was followed by four bumps in the other three days, bringing M1 firmly into Division II. The men’s second boat had less success, dropping from Division V into Division VI.

Trinity left us with just enough numbers for two permanent men’s boats, but sadly two rowers suffered unrelated injuries and couldn’t make the racing. M1 recovered well, bringing up an M2 rower who responded quickly to the challenge. This left M2 training up two fairly inexperienced rowers in the fortnight before Eights racing.
Errors in racing technique surprisingly caused M1 to row over on the first day and be bumped on the second day. The crew battled off a strong Linacre crew on Friday and then bumped Somerville on Saturday past Boat Club Island. The final result was no change in position; the first time Merton’s
M1 has not dropped since 2010. M2 did better than expected given the last-minute changes in crew, managing to avoid spoons. Unfortunately they still dropped from the bottom of Division IV to the top of Division V. Overall, the crews were fairly happy with their training and results this year, with the Men’s first crew moving up four places in Torpids and holding their position in Summer Eights. Our coach Ian Smith has been key to this success.
Ongoing training and recruitment should help us build on the base that has been built in the Boat Club. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve over the coming years.

Jaime Valdemoros Gomez (2013)
Men’s Captain 2014-15

Women’s Rowing

This year’s women’s boat has been made up of a great group of girls and I do not think anyone can deny the sheer amount of hard work, commitment and good humour that has been put in!
We started well in Michaelmas Term with our freshers’ boat successfully winning both their first and second races. Our most enthusiastic freshers then continued into Hilary Term and joined W1 in training for Torpids. Some icy cold stints on the water, as well as gruelling gym and erg sessions, were rewarded with great improvement. We must also thank Ian Smith, our wonderful coach, for his dedication and never ending patience. All of this combined meant that on the day itself we achieved a bump – something we were all very proud of, as for many of us, this was the first time.

Trinity Term provided more time on the water and arguably more enjoyable sessions, given that it was even occasionally sunny. This training led into a great Summer Eights’ Week, when fun was had by all. As I said in my speech at the dinner that finished the week: ‘Yes, we got spoons, but we
got spoons in style!’ I think the girls this year should be very proud of everything they have achieved; the crew was mostly very inexperienced and they performed well under pressure. I expect great things next year when, with more experience, I am sure the boat will go from strength to strength.

Sally Bolton (2013)
Women’s Captain 2014-15