University of Louisville
Head of the Charles
Louisville’s Varsity Eight Crew to Compete at Head of the Charles
October 20, 2017 | Rowing
Cardinals entered in women’s championship eight, which is set to begin Sunday at approximately 2:22 p.m., ET
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the first time since 2011, the University of Louisville rowing team will compete in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta as the Cardinals send their varsity eight crew to Cambridge, Massachusetts for the event.
Louisville will compete in the women's championship eight event, which is set for Sunday at approximately 2:22 p.m., ET on the Charles River. The Cardinals are among 36 crews entered in the race. Louisville's varsity eight crew for the Head of the Charles will include sophomore Kate Allport (coxswain), freshman Violette Legrand, senior Claire Bahain, senior Kirsti Harrison, junior Abbi Fitts, senior Sarah Podwojski, junior Lucie Heranova, senior Elizabeth Patrick and senior Leah Stump.
"We have not been to this race since I took over the program. It is an awesome experience and we wish all of our team could go though it each year," said Cardinals head coach Derek Copeland, who is in his sixth season at the helm. "Last year, the team asked if we could have a boat represent our program at this race. We decided that the time was right and we entered and received a bid from the race directors. We have worked hard getting this eight selected for the race as well as preparing the rest of our team for an inaugural at home event that we are calling the Head of the Louis.
"The Head of the Louie will allow the other four or five groups of eights who remain in Louisville this weekend to compete against each other on the Ohio River. The Head of the Charles is certainly a chance for our team to put our best foot forward for the 2017-18 season. The field is made up of university programs similar to ours as well as many international and Olympic athletes."
Since its origin in 1965, the Head of the Charles Regatta has welcomed the world's best crew teams to the banks of the Charles River for the ultimate two-day rowing competition. This year's event includes 2,271 entries while more than 1,650 volunteers assist with the event. The Head of the Charles, the largest two-day regatta in the world, is contested on a three-mile (4,800 meters) course along the Charles River.
"The course is one of the most challenging in existence. We have selected sophomore coxswain Kate Allport to lead the crew this year. All of the coxswains have been studying this course for weeks and now Kate will get the opportunity to steer us through safely and quickly," explained Copeland. "The entire staff has really stepped up to start the season strong while working for two different goals: keep the team moving toward our ACC Championship goals and preparing this championship eight crew for this weekend. I would really like to mention that the athletic training staff at Cardinal Park have been instrumental in getting us healthy for this season, especially Takeaki Ando, an intern with the sports medicine staff. Takeaki has done an amazing job treating our athletes and he needs to know how much we appreciate it."
Following the Head of the Charles, the Cardinals will next compete at the Head of the Hooch on Nov. 4 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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