This week, a Cantabs men’s 8+ will be racing in the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.
The crew in action on day 1 against Avon RC, NZ
The line-up for the crew has changed since Henley Royal Qualifiers on Friday 23rd June, after Mark Lawrence was taken ill on Sunday at Henley and was forced to bow out. Mark is the most experienced rower in the men’s squad, learning to row 20 years ago at school. He has done GB junior trials and trialled at CUBC when he was a student at Christs College Cambridge. Mark joined Cantabs in 2011, and has rowed for Cantabs in the Thames three times before. He is currently studying at Durham University, for whom he won the Halliday at HoRR and medalled in the BUCS Championship eights.
Erik Sullivan stepped in to take Mark’s place on Tuesday. Erik was in the ill-fated Cantabs HoRR line-up which never got to see the light of day after the race was cancelled due to bad weather, though rowing is not his primary sport. He has a full blue in swimming, and swims both indoor and open-water, including racing the Channel. Nonetheless, Erik is not new to racing at HRR, having learned to row at St Paul’s, and racing in the Temple in 2013.
Stroke Riccardo Conci also raced in the Temple with Clare College, with whom he won blades in May Bumps last year. Ricci has the most successful HRR history of the whole crew, having won the PE in 2014 with Eton College. This is Sara Russo‘s first time coxing at Henley Royal. Sara learned to row at Clare Hall BC in 2013, and has also rowed herself whilst at Cantabs, both rowing and coxing in Town Bumps.
Men’s captain Guy Fiddian, who learned to row at Cantabs in 2014, returns from Cantabs’ HRR line-up from last year, as does Hannes Burfeind who joined Cantabs in 2015 having previously rowed for Hatfield College BC in Durham, where he learned to row in 2010. Guy and Hannes were in Cantabs’ Town Bumps headship crew last year, along with Ricardo Herreros-Symons who, in case you didn’t know, was in the spare pair for CUBC.
Sam Philpott, in the 2-seat, has raced for Cambridge in the lightweight blue boat in 2016 and 2017, with bow Jonah Harris also trialling for CULRC on two occasions after learning to row as part of the Emmanuel College rugby boat in 2013. Andrew Marsden completes the line-up, being another crew member who learned to row at a Cambridge college – Andrew with Caius College.
After winning their first round race against Avon Rowing Club, New Zealand, the crew will race Tideway Scullers School this afternoon at 3:05pm.
The video of their race against Avon can be viewed on YouTube:
