PRIYA COOPER / SPORTS EDITOR

The Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR)  is an annual weekend-long rowing event held  towards   the   end of every October. The race lasted  from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20 this year and always takes place on the Charles River, running between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the largest three-day regatta in the world, featuring 11,000 athletes competing in over 2,500 boats across 73 events. According to the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, the event attracts 225,000 visitors to the  area and generates almost $80 million  for the local economy each year.

Both  the  men’s and women’s rowing teams are competing in multiple races at the event this year. The men competed in the Collegiate Eights and Collegiate Fours, while the women’s team rowed in the Club Four and Club Eight. 

USD sophomore and coxswain for the men’s Collegiate Four crew, Jonah McDonnell, talked about the expectations going into the weekend.

“As a program, we have never been in a better  position to make a name  for  USD,  especially  on  such a large stage,” McDonnell said. “I think I can speak for our whole team when I say  we have never been more excited and focused for a fall race, and the results on Sunday  will  speak  for  themselves.”

The results did indeed speak for themselves as USD men’s rowing placed the highest they ever have at this year’s Head of the Charles and received gold at one of the biggest races of the year.  The team took  1st place in the Collegiate Fours out of 42 competing teams and twenty-seventh place in the Collegiate Eights, also out of 42 teams. Senior Derek Hissong, senior Sam Pigott, junior Rex Bales, junior Aidan Andrzejewski and sophomore Jonah McDonnell won the Men’s Collegiate Four. They  finished  27  seconds  ahead  of Stetson University, who was the winner of the Collegiate Four in 2023. The Collegiate Eights crew was manned by USD athletes sophomore Nick Lee,  sophomore Dawson Hein, junior Kacen Hamada, senior Jacob Cofrey,  sophomore  James Grauley, sophomore Jaydn Conover, sophomore Henry Michaud,  sophomore    Gable  Kritch and junior Santiago  Gomez. This marks the first HOCR first-place finish in program history, after  finishing   men’s   rowing places  third in 2022 and second in 2023. 

The men’s rowing team’s historic performance at the Head of the Charles set a new standard for USD, with their Collegiate Fours and Eights delivering impressive results. 

Riding that wave of success, the excitement extended to USD’s women’s rowing team as well. Senior captain Addison Peebles  expressed  her  eagerness to compete in Boston, where the energy and scale of the regatta fueled  her  team’s passion  for  racing. 

Women’s Club Eight crew team on the Charles river in Boston. Photo courtesy of @usdwrowing/Instagram

“The Head of the Charles is my favorite event of the year,” Peebles said. “As the largest three-day rowing regatta in the world, it is the culmination of our summer training. I can’t wait to race alongside my best friends, feeling the energy of tens of thousands of spectators cheering us on. The anticipation and the thrill of the competition makes it an unforgettable experience.” 

Building on the anticipation surrounding the Head of the Charles, USD senior rower Georgia Koerwitz echoed the excitement of competing on such a grand stage. Reflecting on the unique atmosphere of the event, she shared her thoughts on what makes this experience so special.

“I am extremely excited to be racing my last head of the Charles this year,” Koerwitz said. “The environment at HOCR is like nowhere else, being the largest regatta  in  the  world.  It is a weekend that feels like all of Boston comes together to invest in rowing. It’s quite amazing rowing in a place that truly cares about rowing and its culture, it’s completely different than anywhere on the West Coast. We hope to medal this year and continue to grow as a program.” 

At the 2024 Head of the Charles, the women’s Club Four earned a fourth place finish out of 50 boats, and the Club Eight crew came in  sixth  place out  of 42  boats. The USD Club Four was rowed by junior coxswain Everett Melstrand, junior Sophia Bouvard as well as seniors Kayla Baker, Ali O’Dea and Jayden Soukoulis. The Club Eight was rowed by USD sophomore coxswain Natanya Ahadian, sophomore Grace Kaufmann, junior Ava Minney, senior Gigi Koerwitz, senior Addie Peebles, junior Annika Goodwin, first-year Rebecca Donn, freshman Skye Lang and junior Vivian Goretic.

After the successful weekend, Goretic reflected on the experience and opportunity to compete against so many  different  athletes. 

“Head of the Charles Regatta is one  of the biggest rowing regattas in the world and a special weekend to us, not only because of the distance we travel to get to it but more so because we get to race against schools we usually don’t see in  our regular  season and do it right  alongside  Olympians that are just returning from Paris, looking for  some  fun racing,” Goretic said.  “The regatta captures the beauty around the sport in the most   empowering way, and  we  are excited to have this  momentum looking forward to our spring season. Our Club Four finished in  the  medals  with  fourth place, our Club Eight finished sixth, both of these being the best finishes  in program history, which we are incredibly thrilled by.” 

This year, both  USD’s rowing teams  made   history, with  the men’s team achieving their first-ever championship and the women’s team delivering commendable performances. As both  teams  look to the future, their successes at this prestigious event indicates a positive start to the season and other races to come. Both the men’s and women’s team are set to compete this coming weekend  in the second tournament of the fall season, the Head of the American Regatta on Saturday Oct. 26.  in Sacramento, CA. 

Men’s rowing wins gold in Collegiate Fours. Photo courtesy of @usdmrowing/Instagram