Catz Smash Competition at Newnham Short Course

Catz dominated the M1 division today at Newnham Short Course, ploughing to victory with an impressive time of 6.08.59 over the 1.6km course.

The result is a stark contrast from last year, when they came a disappointing last place. Robinson will be very upset they didn’t push a little harder for the finish line, coming in a painfully close second place, only 1.16 seconds behind Catz.

In the M2 division, Magdalene put in a strong performance, winning the division and beating both the Christ’s and Eddie’s M1 boats. Pembroke also had a good race and both crews will be looking ahead to Bumps with confidence.

On the women’s side, the results were much as expected, with Christ’s setting the pace at 7.22.34 and Pembroke and Magdalene coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Embarassingly, Eddie’s W1 were beaten by the quickest W3 boat, Newnham.

In the W2 division, Emma brought home victory very comfortably, crossing the finish line far faster than the following Christ’s boat. Looks like Emma W1 could do with a touch of that magic in their battle to keep the Headship this year.

There was not much chance to speculate on top college crews’ progress towards Bumps since big boys Downing and First and Third decided not to make an appearance today, instead saving their energy for next week’s challenges: Robinson Head (Friday) and Head of the Nene at Peterborough (Saturday).