Thursday
M1
Unfortunately for M1 a bad line off the start saw blades scraping the banks just before Donny Bridge giving Mansfield the opportunity to move in for the bump. M1 recovered well and were soon back at speed but were caught by St Anne’s in the gut. Holding strong on the race line down Greenbanks M1 powered on while LMH and Keble went wide and fought it out in front of race desk. Keble were evidently not able to catch LMH as W1 was caught by LMH just before boathouse island and then by Keble at the Wadham raft. Undeterred, M1 put in a stellar performance along Christchurch meadows, finding an extra burst of energy and power to hold off a late challenge from Merton, a good sign for things to come tomorrow when they will line up in front of Merton. (Leila Tai)
W1
W1 were at bungline 10, chasing St Annes and being chased by Brasenose. Pushing as hard as they could, they rowed cleanly past St Catz just before Donny bridge, who had already been caught by St Annes. Tomorrow they will be chasing St Annes again. (Nicki Hubbard)
M2
Coming soon.
W2
W2 got off to a solid start but unfortunately not quick enough to hold off a newly motivated Regent’s Park, out for blood after yesterday’s epic bump, and were bumped just after Donny Bridge. Unfortunately, this was the start of a bad run for W2 as the tangle with Regent’s blades saw W2 lose precious seconds. The girls stayed determined and didn’t stop rowing despite the interference but were quickly caught by Wolfson 3 at the start of the gut and then Somerville 2 who came up from nowhere just at the mouth of the gut. W2 recovered quickly and rowed long and strong down Greenbanks and, spurred on by cheers from the Worcester Boat House, showed great timing and focus all the way to the finish. (Leila Tai)
Wednesday
M1
M1 got off to a speedy start, coming within half a length of Teddy Hall, but sadly weren’t able to convert this into a bump, and as they exited the gut were forced to concede to a strong crew from Univ who had stolen a march on them from behind. What followed was an epic chase as M1 rowed down Greenbank with Lincoln hot on their tail. The two crews sped bast Boathouse Island with Lincoln gaining ever so slowly on Worcester and, tragically, they got the bump with mere metres to go before the finish line. Bad luck for M1 today, but their constitutions remain strong, as does their determination to make their mark over the next three days. (Ben Phillips)
W1
Worcester W1 were off to a really quick start and gaining on GTC. After losing faith that they could catch GTC, unfortnately lost momentum and were caught by a rapid St Annes. hoping they could go for the overbump, they rowed on, but unfortunately the possible overbump bumped too. A not so fun 2k row for the first day. Better luck tomorrow ! (Nicki Hubbard)
M2
To come soon.
W2
W2 had a strong start, creating a lot of space between themselves and Univ 2. Oriel 2 bumped out ahead and it didn’t look like W2 would be able to catch Lincoln 2, but then Regent’s banked on greenbank. W2 almost managed to catch up with them but they got away in the nick of time with a fast start and strong row away. Then disaster struck for Regent’s as they caught a crab and Worcester made up the distance and bumped them hard, with 2’s blade ejecting the Regent’s cox from her seat. (Ben Phillips)
