Saugatuck Rowing Club Juniors sent five crews to the national competition June 9 to 11 in Sarasota, Fla..
In addition to the women's youth 8+ win, the women's youth lightweight 4+ placed fourth and the women's youth 4+ placed sixth overall, rowing in the A finals.
In the B finals, both the men's youth 4+ and the men's lightweight youth 8+ took fourth, finishing 10th overall. The women's youth 8+ victory was the highlight of the dominant crew’s third undefeated year in a row, during which it three-peated youth rowing’s “triple crown” – winning the Head of the Charles Regatta, San Diego Crew Classic and Youth National Championships.
“We sent a strong, motivated group of rowers to nationals this year,” said Sharon Kriz, SRC director of rowing and boys head coach. “It’s gratifying to see our athletes compete so successfully on the national stage.”
Youth Nationals is the premier junior rowing event in the United States, with nearly 1,500 athletes competing in more than 350 crews, representing some 150 teams from across the country, all vying for national titles in 18 boat classes.
“In winning a third national title, our varsity 8+ accomplished a feat unprecedented in our club’s history,” said Gordon Getsinger, SRC junior girls head coach. “It is incredibly powerful to see the dedicated rowers in all our crews earn strong finishes.”
The SRC boats at Youth National Championships included:
- Womens Youth 8+ (gold) – Noelle Amlicke (Westport), Tatiana Chermayeff (Rowayton), Caitlin Esse (New Canaan), Grace McGinley (Westport), Kelsey McGinley (Westport), Sophie Pendrill (Scarsdale, NY), Charlotte Powers, coxswain (Fairfield), Imogen Ratcliffe (Westport), and Willemijn ten Cate (Westport)
- Womens Youth Lightweight 4+ (fourth) – Bonnie Pushner (Fairfield), Alice Sardarian (Westport), Eden Schumer, coxswain (Westport), Evan Shorrock (Westport), and Sanna ten Cate (Westport)
- Womens Youth 4+ (sixth) -- Parker Cuthbertson (Westport), Clara Everett (Fairfield), Isabelle Grosgogeat, coxswain (Westport), Camila Meyer-Bosse (Westport) and Hope Weisman (Larchmont)
- Mens Youth 4+ (10th) -- Sawyer Banbury (Weston), Diego Baugh (Norwalk), Harrison Burke (Westport), Michael Cantor (Westport), and Alin Pasa, coxswain (Westport)
- Mens Youth Lightweight 8+ (10th) – Steve Batter (Wilton), Emir Beg (Westport), Natalie DiLeo, coxswain (Fairfield), Jared Edwards (Westport), Henry Grant (Trumbull), Sam Holzhauer (Ridgefield), Justin Schmidt (Westport), Ethan Vosper (Westport) and Andrew Woods (Westport)
Saugatuck Rowing and Fitness Club is on the Saugatuck River in Westport.
Photo IDs: Saugatuck Rowing Club’s women's youth 8+ crew and coaches, from left: SRC assistant girls coach Anna Yamamoto, Noelle Amlicke, Westport; Kelsey McGinley, Westport; Imogen Ratcliffe, Westport; Willemijn ten Cate, Westport; coxswain Charlotte Powers, Fairfield; SRC girls head coach Gordon Getsinger; Tatiana Chermayeff, Rowayton; Grace McGinley, Westport; Caitlin Esse, New Canaan; and Sophie Pendrill, Scarsdale, N.Y.
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