Varsity Crews Win Three Gold Medals at Head of the Chattahoochee

Combined Crew

Nov. 7, 1999

Gainesville, GA – The University of Miami varsity men and women’s crew grabbed gold medals in three of the top four races at the Head of the Chattahoochee Regatta on the Olympic Course from the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Highlighted by the varsity women’s eight, UM continued its dominance of the southern region with a first-place time of 19.69.9 in the Championship Women’s Eight, six seconds ahead of silver medal winner Duke (19.22.0). The varsity women’s eight consists of coxswain Jenny Lee, Marijka VanderPol, Britta Chambers, Marleen Meijeringh, Amanda Turner, Cathy Dunnet, Elizabeth Payer, Megan McGrath and Michele McVeagh.

In the race consisting of 22 boats, UM actually finished 36 seconds faster than its nearest competitor but was penalized 30 seconds due to a steering error. Central Florida placed third with a time of 19:24.1.

The varsity women’s four also grabbed a gold medal with a time of 20:39.8 over the three-mile course, 22 seconds faster than silver medal winner Jacksonville (21:02.4) and Bronze medal finisher Texas (21:09.9). Twenty boats also competed in the Women’s Championship Four race.

“This was a really great regatta for our program,” said Head Coach Joe O’Connor. “The varsity women really learned a lot about attacking the field at the Head of the Charles and it really showed this weekend. We were the most aggressive boat out there.”

Highlighting the men’s side was the varsity four, which took home the gold medal in the Championship Men’s Four race, ahead of second-place Duke and third-place Marietta College.The varsity men are led by coxswain Rob Bowman, Jas Grocholski, Rich Gustin, Michael Hayes, Holt Haynsworth, Chris Manti, James Riley, Albert Parlade and Alex Meillat.

The varsity men’s eight recorded a bronze finish with a time of 17:39.3 in the Championship Men’s Eight race. Marietta College claimed gold with a time of 17:08.4.

“This regatta gave us great confidence heading into the Rivanna Romp at the University of Virginia next weekend,” added O’Connor. “Together as a whole program, the men and women haven’t had this successful of a regatta in at least five years.”

Next up for Miami is the women’s Rivanna Romp, held at the University of Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 14.