Reviews
University Washington, USA v Oxford Brookes ‘A‘
Temple, Henley, Saturday! Three words that inspire excitement, and make you think of close racing. Yet once again we were faced with Brookes’ domination – not entirely unexpected but I think we were all hoping for the Huskies to pull something out of the bag. From the first few strokes it seemed Brookes ‘A’ were just sitting more comfortably, rowing more efficiently with a sense of calmness that comes from confidence in a world class program. Though they kept edging out their lead Brookes maintained a higher rate and, despite a valiant fight from Washington, it extended from an early canvas to just over a length. Brookes ‘A’ will be back to fight another day in the final tomorrow.
Oxford Brookes ‘B’ v Syracuse University, USA
It seems the organisers are determined to give us matched racing on Saturday, and an exciting final on Sunday. The Brookes war machine rages on, with the B crew gearing up to fight to make it a Brookes v Brookes final. Neither crew was a full 1v which is a testament to both squads’ depth but the advantage lay with Syracuse, being a mix of their 1v/2v rather than a full B boat like Brookes. And the advantage carried on to the line with Syracuse and their double bucket, after an early lead they continued to gently pull away and gain clearwater pretty early on. Winning with less than 2 lengths on a Saturday is an impressive feat, so this gives us the hope for some exciting racing on Sunday. If the finish line celebrations from the Syracuse crew are anything to go by, the American’s are not only hungry for the win, but also determined to prove they have what it takes to lift that trophy.
Final
Oxford Brookes ‘A’ v Syracuse University, USA
Did we expect a Brookes A vs Brookes B final? Maybe the better question is, did we want one? Alas, the Stewards blessed us with evenly matched semi’s which has led to Syracuse being able to give Brookes’ A a decent fight tomorrow, in the Temple Challenge Cup. After comfortable, almost easy, rowing the entire week Brookes seem to be in a good place to take tomorrow’s title. However it may not be as easy as they hoped, with Syracuse definitely not going down without a fight, in an all-American manner. Based on today’s performance, the crew from Syracuse have the potential to turn over this ever-dominant Brookes boat and as the six seat from the Syracuse boat summed up when asked about their race plaN; ‘we just have to stay internal. We can only control what we can control.’ This is exactly the mindset one needs when lining up at the start line of Henley Royal Regatta and seeing the maroon of Brookes next to you.
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