Head of the Schoolgirls 2021
On Thursday the 11th of March, the 157 MGC rowers and coaches arrived at school at 6:00 AM and travelled to the Barwon River for the final regattas of the season.
In perfect conditions, the MGC rowers defended their title as overall Female Rowing School Sport Victoria champions.
Throughout the day’s racing, our rowers performed admirably, winning the Year 9, Year 10 and Senior Quad Scull titles, as well as the Open Eight. Importantly, the event provided the opportunity for our rowers to gain valuable race practice prior to the Head of Schoolgirls regatta starting the next day, and to enjoy each-others company in the relatively calm environment of the warm up event.
Friday began similarly well with perfect conditions. Our rowers matched the weather with a series of commanding performances as our senior rowers won three heats in a row in the senior quad. As the day progressed, the most pleasing aspect of the performances on display was the competitiveness and improvement of all three of our squads, with numerous crews gaining first or second position in heats and progressing straight through to either A or semi-finals.
Saturday featured numerous close races, with many crews progressing through their repechage into semi-finals. Many junior and intermediate crews also celebrated their first race wins for the season in this phase of the competition.
After a final team dinner and celebration on Saturday night, our crews prepared as best they could for the final day of competition.
Sunday morning again delivered outstanding conditions for racing. As the day progressed, many crews delivered personal best times, and the anticipation grew for the five crews that would be racing for medals in the afternoon session.
The first crew to race for a medal was the Junior Division 6 Quad Scull, coached by 2020 Year 12, Maribel Cousins. Ella Hurley, Imogen Silver, Alia Fritschy-O'Connor, Sophia Blake and Cox Lyla Artavilla raced strongly, winning silver in a time of 4:05. Impressively, the crew won silver despite a challenging heat where they placed last on Friday morning.
The second A final of the day consisted of the Senior Division 4 Quad Scull coached by Glenn Fischmann and former MGC rower and Australian representative Chloe Betts. The crew of Annabelle Power, Maeve Sharrock, Alessandra Donnelly, Ellie Brennan and Coxes Lily Ritson Morrison and Sophie Close attacked the race strongly, leading for the first 2/3rds of the race before fading slightly to win the bronze medal in a personal best time of 6:04.
In the Senior Division 3 Quad Scull, coach Graham Smith’s crew of Ella Brown, Kate Umseher, Aimee Constantinou, Chloe Mansfield and Cox Marcella Souter led from start to finish, winning the championship in a time of 6:01, continuing a run of victories that commenced in early February.
The Senior Division 2 Quad Scull of Thea Rozsa, Ellie Bellsmith, Georgie Watson, Hazel Calwell, and Niamh Georgakas produced a fantastic race, winning silver narrowly behind an extremely talented and consistent Kardinia International College crew. Coach Tallulah Herman was extremely proud of the crew’s time of 5:43.59.
The final MGC race of the day consisted of the Senior Division 1 Quad Scull, who faced off against Ruyton Girls’, who have regularly won the Head of Schoolgirls and Australian Championships in recent years. Despite a dashing finish and a cheer squad of 150 rowers and coaches, the MGC crew of Saskia Junge, Bethany Zmak, Victoria Trentin, Harper Waring and Cox Eugenie Dixon claimed silver only 1 second behind the champions in a time of 5:36; a performance that pleased coach Jessica Hare immensely.
As a program, we are incredibly proud of the group of strong, focussed, supportive and resilient young women that represented our school this year. Regardless of whether they raced in the A or E final, every rower contributed to building the fantastic MGC culture on display throughout the regatta.
On behalf of the coaches and rowers, we would like to acknowledge the great work of our parent volunteers this season who ensured we could compete throughout the regatta season and eat at the Head of Schoolgirls and SSV regatta. Their generosity and time contributed immensely to the performances of all of our rowers.
Thank you also to our dedicated coaches, who despite the challenges this season, rose magnificently to the challenge.
Glenn Fischmann
Director of Rowing