Southampton University Women Clean Up at BUCS

This weekend Southampton University rowers travelled northbound to compete at the annual BUCS head race, which saw universities from all around the UK race over a distance of 5k for experienced athletes, and a respectable 3k for beginners. Initially, there was an unfortunate threat that the event was going to be called off due flooding at the original race location in Peterborough, but luckily the event organisers relocated at last minute to nearby Boston.

Saturday saw Southampton’s Novice Men’s eight gain a well-deserved 7^th place, with the Novice Women also finishing in a respectable 12^th place. The best result of the day came from the Novice Women’s four in the penultimate category of day 1, finishing in an impressive 9^th place. This performance really put on a show, highlighting the respective strength of the Southampton rowing programme in developing successful newcomers to the sport.

Sunday brought the battle of the titans, with Southampton’s Senior Men and Women attempting to fight off the likes of Durham, Cambridge and Newcastle to defend several titles picked up the previous year.  The Men’s Squad gained a  12^th place finish in the Championship 4 category, as well as a 15^th place finish in the intermediate 4. Shortly after, the Men’s championship 8 had a tough start entering into an automatic brawl with Imperial and Bristol but eventually finishing in an admirable 15^th place. The notorious Southampton Women’s quad finished 6^th, in a race won by an “Olympically” advantaged Imperial College boat.

The real highlight of the day came with an extraordinary performance from the Women’s squad, picking up 2 medals. The Women’s 8 picked up bronze medal after battling it out with two very fast Cambridge boats, and the icing on the cake came in the form of the Women’s 4 taking a well deserved silver medal in the Intermediate Women’s coxed 4, to bring an end to a great day of racing.

The all-round performance really showed the potential of Southampton’s beginner crews, the enduring dominance of Southampton’s Senior Women and the vast potential incorporated in this year’s Senior Men’s programme!