HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England – For the first time in 26 years, the Colgate Women's Rowing program competed in the 39th annual Henley Women's Regatta. The Henley was founded in 1988 to provide an international racing regatta for women.

The Raiders had two boats compete in the time trial on Friday in the 1,500-meter course: the First Varsity Eight, coxed by Kat Metcalf, and the Second Varsity Eight, coxed by Victoria Reale.

The 1V8+ advanced to Saturday's race against Glasgow University, while the 2V8+ concluded its season at the Women's Henley.

In a closely contested race on Saturday, Glasgow narrowly edged the Raiders to advance, concluding Colgate's 2025–26 season.

COACH LISTER'S COMMENTS
Amazing effort from both boats! We shifted our mindset from a 2k to 1500m by being more aggressive on the drive side. Before we knew the results it was evident that the effort necessary to compete in this deep field was fully given in both boats. We are very proud of the commitment from the rowers to challenge themselves in a time trial format and for the coxswains to steer an excellent course along the wooden booms with their blades feet away. It was a great start to the weekend. Tomorrow will be quite a different race format for the varsity 8+ as they go head to head with Glasgow. We started the season with a dual racing format at Cornell and we look forward to having that experience once again with 2 crews competing side by side. Today was a culmination of the 3 week effort that we have invested in. Truly a magical experience for all to enjoy.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Friday, June 19
The time trials started at 10 a.m. with 33 boats competing in the Aspirational Academic 8+ category. After the first boat launched, the next boat followed approximately 30 seconds later, with each crew competing for a time that would advance it to the next round.

The 1V8+ was the first boat to compete for the Raiders. In the 1,500-meter race, Colgate was one of 16 boats to advance to Saturday's race. The 1V8+ was also one of four American crews to advance to the next round.

The 2V8+ concluded its season in Friday's time trials. The boat coxed by Reale finished 25th with a time of 5:08.4 in the 1,500-meter race. The boat finished about two seconds behind Sheffield University Rowing Club and Liverpool University Boat Club.

Saturday, June 20
The 1V8+ competed at 2:12 p.m. against Glasgow University. The boats raced the 1,500-meter distance, and Colgate edged Glasgow for most of the race. In the final stretch, Glasgow powered through and crossed the finish line in 5:13.8, about two-thirds of a length ahead of Colgate.

Despite the conclusion of the Raiders' season, the 1V8+ finished among the top 16 boats at the Henley Women's Regatta.

Colgate Lineups

Women's Varsity Eight
Katherine Metcalf (C), Marie Clausen, Rebecca Carew, Elena Myatt, Ellie Givertz-Steel, Catherine Elliott, Sarah Slember, Sophia Cerroni, Stella Curcio

Women's Second Varsity Eight
Victoria Reale (C), Kate Lawrence, Sophia Dranchak, Elizabeth Hoffert, Talya Djemil, Sarah Beth Sandifer, Tessa Weber, Claire Chesnut, Grace Ciaravino