Day Three At Henley: Four UW Crews & Scullers Through To Quarterfinals

HENLEY-ON-THAMES, U.K. – Four UW-affiliated crews and scullers won their races Thursday at the Henley Royal Regatta, earning a place in quarterfinals on Friday.
 
Husky entries advanced in The Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup (women's pairs), The Island Challenge Cup (women's eights) and The Princess Royal Challenge Cup (women's single sculls), while UW alumnus Ben Davison '17, rowing for California Rowing Club, won his race in The Diamond Challenge Cup (men's single sculls). Two other Washington crews – a men's coxed four and a men's double sculls – lost their races.
 
Friday, six UW entries will row in quarterfinal races, along with two other races involving UW alumni.
 
The UW pair of Shakira Mirfin of New Zealand and Madi Frampton of Tumwater, Wash., earned an opening-round victory in The Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup, cruising to a five-length victory over Katie Shirlow and Rebecca Logan of Ireland.
 
Friday, Mirfin & Frampton will square off with Australians Jean Mitchell and Georgie Gleeson, who had a first-round bye. That quarterfinal race is scheduled to start at 7:50 a.m. PT.
 
Davison, who rowed in the U.S. men's eight at the Toyko Olympics last year, began his bid for The Diamond Challenge Cup – the open men's single sculls competition – with a win over veteran Polish sculler Maciej Zawojski, pulling away at the end to win what was mostly a tight race by two lengths.
 
Next for Davison is a quarterfinal, Friday at 7:20 a.m. PT vs. Australian David Bartholot, who rowed unopposed in his opening race after his opponent withdrew.
 
One of two UW women's eights at Henley won its second race of the regatta in The Island Challenge Cup. The UW crew, which had beaten Edinburgh University on Wednesday, took the lead over U.S.R. Triton (Netherlands), a crew that was given a first-round bye, from the start, and maintained that lead over the length of the race course. UW won by one and three-quarter lengths.
 
In the quarterfinals on Friday, that Husky eight will take on a crew from Yale, at 8:00 a.m. PT.
 
Washington alumna and German National Team member Tabea Schendekehl '20, representing UW, advanced to the quarters in The Princess Royal Challenge Cup, rowing unopposed in her opening-round race after her intended opponent withdrew from the regatta due to an injury. Friday, she will take on Imogen Grant, who competed in the lightweight singles at the Tokyo Olympics. That race is set for 6:20 a.m. PT.
 
In The Double Sculls Challenge Cup, Washington's Adam Krol and Steve Rosts, a pair of rowers from UW's 2022 varsity eight, fell to Nathan Hull and Aidan Thompson of Great Britain, in a race that was close throughout. The Brits beat the Husky double by a length and a half at the end.
 
Washington's men's coxed four, which had won its Prince Albert Challenge Cup opener on Wednesday, lost in its second-round matchup, to a crew from the University of California, which won the race by just two-thirds of a length.
 
Friday at 9:50 a.m.  PT, Washington's top women's eight will row for the first time, in The Remenham Challenge Cup, the marquee event for women's eights. The field for the Remenham also has a U.S. National Team entry that includes UW alumna Jessica Thoennes '18. Her U.S. crew will take on Leander Club (U.K.) in a quarterfinal Friday at 11:30 a.m. PT.
 
Another UW alum, Peter Lancashire, will also race Friday, stroking a Leander Club eight in the Ladies' Challenge Plate, at 4:05 am PT. 
 
Also back in action for Friday are UW's men's eight, in the Temple Challenge Cup. Having already won first- and second-round race on Tuesday and Wednesday, that crew will take on D.S.R. Laga of the Netherlands in a quarterfinal, at 2:00 a.m. PT.
 
In The Visitors' Challenge Cup, Washington's men's four without coxswain, which won its first race on Wednesday, will take on a crew from France in its quarterfinal, at 11:10 a.m. PT.
 
Finally, on Saturday, three former Husky oarsmen – Chris Carlson '19, Andrew Gaard '19 and Pieter Quinton '22 – will row in the U.S. crew in the Grand Challenge Cup, Henley's marquee men's eights race. The Americans will face a Great Britain eight, rowing under the name of Oxford Brookes University & Leander Club.
 
UW Lineups for Thursday Races:
 
The Island Challenge (W8+)
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Carmen McNamara-Smith (Seattle, Wash./The Center School)
7: Joïe Zier (Orcas Island, Wash./Orcas Island)
6: Taylor Buell (Olympia, Wash./Capital)
5: Angharad Broughton (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.)
4: Katherine Slack (Everett, Wash./Kamiak)
3: Nikki Martincic (Newtown, Sydney, Australia)
2: Brittani Shappell (Bellingham, Wash./Walworth Barbour)
Bow: Fiona Shields (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge)
 
The Hambleden Pairs Cup (W2-)
Stroke: Shakira Mirfin (Invercargill, New Zealand
Bow: Madi Frampton (Tumwater, Wash.)
 
The Princess Royal Challenge Cup (W1x)
Tabea Schendekehl (Dortmund, Germany)
 
The Prince Albert Challenge Cup (M4+)
Stroke: Blake Vogel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic)
3: Max Mason (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
2: Sebastian Ritter (Regensburg, Germany)
Bow: Luke Henry (Bellevue, Wash./Singapore American) 
Cox: Thomas Wenk (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier)
 
The Double Sculls Challenge Cup (M2x)
Stroke: Adam Krol (Toronto, Ont., Canada)
Bow: Steve Rosts (Jordan, Ont., Canada)