Radnor crew teams hope for continued success this fall
As the fall scholastic rowing season gets underway, Radnor High School’s girls’ and boys’ crew clubs will be back in action with high hopes for continued success.
The girls team, which lost 11 seniors to graduation, has a strong roster of 30 girls including six seniors, 11 juniors, 11 sophomores and 11 freshmen. Captains this year are seniors Gillian Sullivan, Olivia Robinson and Anna Duffy.
The girls kick off their competitions at the Navy Day Regatta (varsity only) Oct. 15. The following week, one varsity eight boat will compete in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Mass. The full roster of rowers will race in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, the Hidden River Regatta and the Frostbite and Braxton regattas.
Radnor girls’ varsity head coach Margaret Gordon said, “We are a young team with a majority of athletes being underclassmen, so how the fall season goes will be an exciting unfolding. We came off a good spring season with last year’s freshman team, as well as very good results for this fall’s returning juniors. We are really looking forward to getting out there to race.”
This will be Gordon’s second year at Radnor, and she brings with her 30 years of experience as a coach and administrator of rowing programs on all levels. She rowed at Syracuse University and has coached teams including Columbia University, Haverford College, University of Miami, The Baldwin School and Bachelors Barge Club.
Also returning for his second year is assistant coach William Leeser, who rowed at Haverford College and spent the summer coaching at Upper River Boat Club.
New to the coaching staff is assistant coach Chloe Lewis, who rowed for PCRA and was a member of the US Junior National Team for two years. She rowed for Ithaca College, and is currently a member of Philadelphia’s Undine Barge Club racing team. She has coached juniors at PCRA and Craftsbury Sculling Center.
Also new to the coaching staff is assistant coach Mary Ann McNulty, who is a recent graduate of Princeton University, where she was a member of the women’s crew team and served as a tri-captain as a senior. McNulty won a team Ivy League Championship as well as the Senior 8+ event at the Women’s Henley Regatta in England. She is a recipient of the Art Lane ’34 Award, recognizing outreach on the team and in the Princeton community.
The Radnor boys crew team is comprised of 12 seniors, six juniors, 10 sophomores and 10 freshmen. The majority of the large senior class has been rowing since freshman year and brings considerable racing experience to the season. The roster includes many second- and third-season juniors and sophomores, with many of the freshman rowers attending the Club’s Learn to Row program in August.
For the Radnor boys’ team, captains this year are seniors Matt Palmer and Zahi Shalev. The Radnor boys are coming off a strong spring racing season, with the Lightweight 8 boat finishing third at SRAA Nationals in Zanesville, Ohio. The Lightweight 4 and Varsity 2 boats also medaled at the Nationals’ Schools Championship Regatta in Philadelphia in June.
The Radnor boys’ first regatta will be the Head of the Christina in Wilmington Oct. 2. Other notable events are the Navy Day Regatta and Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in Philadelphia and the Frostbite and Bill Braxton in Mercer Lake, N.J. Additionally, the boys will be represented by two boats at the Head of the Charles Regatta Oct. 22.
The Radnor boys are coached by Ken Piree, Valeria Gospodinov, Samantha Foster and Brian Mulholland, who collectively have collegiate and national team rowing and coaching experience. For more information regarding Radnor Crew, visit www.radnorcrew.org.
