The flagship of the Laker Navy defeated Shrewsbury College today in the round of sixteen at the Henley Royal Regatta. Outweighing Shrewsbury by nearly 2 stone, Grand Valley jumped out early and powered through the water at a long, low and controlled striking rate. With a deck lead at the island, the Lakers were happy to lengthen out to thirty-three strokes per minute against the thirty-eight strokes per minute that Shrewsbury settled to. The lighter crew pushed GVSU through the halfway point at a much higher rating, while Grand Valley was satisfied at the more powerful rate. With a boat length lead at the mile marker, Grand Valley held off a late charge from Shrewsbury heading into the grandstands. The official result was a length and 1/4 victory at a 6.56.

Coach Bancheri noted, “I watched the first race from the umpire launch Panache. Ironically, that is how I told the guys to handle the racing these last few weeks…with a lot of panache. In the first race against Warwick, I thought we were unsteady and short through the water. Today we loaded up and worked on length. The bladework was sharper and much more effective. Tomorrow we race Trinity College, coached by one of my mentors, and, in my opinion, one of the best coaches in the country. It will be a privellage for GVSU to have the opportunity to match up with Trinity.”

The flagship will match up against the ECAC National Champion eight in Trinity College, USA tomorrow in the quarterfinals. Trinity advanced against Oxford Brooks University ‘A’ today in a time of 6.47. The draw for tomorrow’s race is posted at the HRR website. The race time will be 10:00am (5:00am est) and Grand Valley will be starting from the Berkshire shore for the first time this regatta.

Grand Valley featured in the Henley report on Row2k. Follow the link:
Row2k

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