Rowing hosts annual Head of the Ohio Regatta

The Carnegie Mellon rowing club participated in the 22nd annual Head of the Ohio Regatta in Pittsburgh, which was considered to be the team’s homecoming event with alumni racing and the club’s annual banquet. The Tartans were scheduled to participate in 14 race events, but due to the weather, the last two, with four boats total, were canceled.

Notable performances included both the men’s and women’s lightweight eight boats, with the women receiving gold in their event and the men receiving silver.
“I’m very glad we could put out such a good performance, given the amount of time the boat has been practicing together. Pitt’s light eight is a very strong, experienced boat and I feel that taking second to them will only motivate us further,” said junior lightweight rower Zachary Frenchek.

In addition, Carnegie Mellon received a gold and silver medal in the open men’s pair event. In other events, while satisfied with the results, sophomore Heather Lynn said, “I think everyone feels there’s a lot of room for improvement.”

Later in the day, the races were called off due to a thunderstorm threat, which concluded the day’s events early for many of the visiting teams.

Later that night, the club invited alumni to participate in the annual Head of the Ohio Banquet, which provided the team with an opportunity to converse with alumni and listen to the coaches speak about the season ahead of them.

“The team has been bonding a lot over the past month of practices, and the banquet was a great opportunity for us to get a little off-the-water time together. The alumni made great company, and the team is looking forward to keeping traditions like this banquet going for years to come,” said senior Nick Smarto.

The rowing club travels to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to compete in their next major race at the Head of the Fish Regatta Oct. 26.