Only 11 crews are competing in this event, making it one of the smaller entries of the day. Nonetheless, there should be some intense competition and interesting results. A lot of the crews competing would be considered from top clubs, so the results are going to be based a lot on how the boats are stacked and if they have been training in sculling boats. Notable crews include:
Henley
It is hard to see Henley performing poorly in this event. They have not traditionally been the dominant girls sweep club, but that may change this season. It’s worth noting that they aren’t even doing the quad for this race. The girls have entries in the eight, the four, and pairs but only one double. Given this information, I think they will put out a strong four for this race. They also have a Fours Head win behind them in both the four and the quad so their depth and speed should help them at the wekend.
Sir William’s Borlase
Second place at Fours Head in the four, SWB will be looking to take Henley down at this event. They also have pedigree from a second place performance in the Champ Girl’s Eight at Nationals 2015. It’s still early in the season and these girls will be racing both divisions, but it should be exciting to see them put in a fast performance.
Haberdashers’ Monmouth RC
A strong performance should be on the cards for these girls. At the nationals last year, they managed to make the girls champ finals in both the four and the eight and post good times. The J16s last season also performed solidly. They don’t seem to have raced much in the autumn of 2015 but if they have been focusing on sweep rowing and stack this four, they should place highly even if the win is out of their grasp.
Putney
The Putney girls will probably do well in this race. Their Fours Head result was OK, but not quite in the top half, which is surprising. Nonetheless Loftstedt and Andrews won Pairs Head and will probably both be in this four. If they have a better race than Fours Head, they are capable of finishing in a high position.
Lady Eleanor Holles
LEH have every reason to put in a strong performance. They did well at the HOCR in America, placing 23rd in a huge field of junior eights. They placed third at Fours Head, which again hints at a good start to the season. If they continue what they are doing they have a great chance at placing in the top.
Headington
I can’t write this preview without mentioning Headington, although I may unfortunately not be able put them in front of some other crews. Their stroke is Haskins and I think she is a younger athlete in a more developmental boat. Headington are obviously a strong team, but for this particular race they may not have stacked the four. They also placec 7/16 at Fours Head, a respectable result, but not quite winning material.
Top three:
1st : HEN
2nd: SWB
3rd : LEH
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