‘They rowed with a lot of heart’: Drexel women’s crew earns historic qualification for the Henley Regatta

Drexel’s women’s crew entered the record books on Friday, as its varsity eight boat became the first in program history to qualify for a race at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.

The Henley Regatta is among the largest annual events in rowing, bringing the world’s best rowers and collegiate crews to the River Thames. Drexel’s varsity eight received a bid to the Island Challenge Cup, the competition for women’s student rowers. Forty-five total entries were trimmed to 24 by the end of qualifying.

Eleven of the 45 crews earned automatic qualification to the heat races, but the Dragons were not one of them. That meant they had to battle 34 other teams for one of the 13 remaining spots.

“There was a lot of expectation and desire to do well, and starting a trip off and not knowing if you’re going to qualify can certainly be very challenging and stressful,” said Drexel coach Katie Lane.

The qualifying races use individual time trials, and the results are unknown until all 34 crews have completed their trials. The waiting game was nerve-racking for Drexel, but the team cruised to the historic qualification.

“Our focus was really to stay internal and just put out everything that we could do and row our best race, so that we felt like we left it all out there,” said senior Kira Tracy. “We felt like we had a really good race and were confident with it.”

Added Lane: “They rowed with a lot of heart. They rowed with a lot of passion, a lot of energy, and I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve accomplished and what this means for our program.”

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Lane, who crossed an item off her bucket list in taking Drexel to Henley, was hired as the head coach in September. In her first season, the varsity eight took gold at the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta in May, was named the Coastal Athletic Association Boat of the Week twice, and finished third at the CAA championships.

“As a senior class, we really were open to the change,” Tracy said. “Coach Katie came in and has been nothing but supportive of our goals, the program that came before us, and also her goals for the program moving forward.”

After qualifying for the Island Challenge Cup, the Dragons were entered into a random draw, which pitted them against G.S.R. Aegir, a student rowing club in the Netherlands, for their first-round matchup on Wednesday. They’re embracing the opportunity to go head-to-head with a European competitor.

“I think it’ll be a really cool experience, not only being abroad in England, but being able to race another international team,” Tracy said. “We’re really excited and up for the challenge, just to see what happens.”

Along with Tracy, coxswain Chloe Speciale, Taylor Powell, Julianna Rogers, Mollie Knoff, Ariana Townsend, Rita Keefer, Sarah Ghazaz, and Kayla Driscoll round out the varsity eight boat as Drexel looks to prolong its run at Henley.