BOSTON -- The Mount Holyoke College rowing team's varsity four competed well Sunday at the Head of the Charles, placing 15th among 39 boats in Women's Collegiate Fours.
Mount Holyoke's boat, coxswained by senior Jen Butler (Knoxville, Tenn.), completed the famous winding three-mile course in 20:20.010, ahead of 16th-place Chicago, 17th-place RIT, 18th-place Tulane, 19th-place Bates, 20th-place Williams and nine more boats beyond. Georgia Tech finished one place ahead of the Lyons in 14th (20:18.663) and Carleton took first place in 18:27.344.
By finishing in the top half, Mount Holyoke automatically qualified to race again at Head of the Charles in 2025.
"I am happy with the result and the way the crew raced," said head coach Cara Murphy '14. "They executed their race plan well, passing three boats to win the best lines through the biggest turns."
Rowing for the Lyons were junior Gwyn Munroe (Lyme, N.H.) in the bow seat, senior Jill Slatch (Gansevoort, N.Y.) in the second seat, senior Lilla Carroll (Birmingham, Ala.) in the third seat and sophomore Katrina Holbrook (St. Paul, Minn.) in the stroke seat.
"I'm incredibly proud of my boat and my whole team," said Munroe. "We stayed strong through a long and challenging course. It's great to see all our hard work paying off: we finished much faster than seeded, and secured a place in the HOCR for next year! I couldn't have asked for better teammates, both those in the boat with me and those cheering us on and supporting us."
Munroe also noted the added meaning to Sunday's race for the Lyons.
"It was also a very meaningful race because it was the first race for our new boat, the Amazing Grace," Munroe said. "She is dedicated to MHC Rowing alum Grace Nicklas Warne '86, who sadly passed away recently. Attending the boat dedication for her earlier this fall was a deeply moving experience, and we hope to have many more great races with this beautiful boat. We are all deeply grateful for Grace's family, friends, and teammates for making this possible; we couldn't have done this without their support."
Mount Holyoke completes fall competition on Saturday with the Wormtown Chase, out of the Donahue Rowing Center in Shrewsbury, Mass.
