Category: News

The Connecticut Boat Club girls took on windy West Windsor New Jersey this weekend. The team raced in The Mercer Lake Sprints 2 day long regatta and came home with some hardware early in the weekend. For the novices it was the first ‘real’ regatta following some scrimmages earlier in the season but they proved to know exactly what they were doing. Mishi Khamish lined her Novice 8+ boat and raced hometown river neighbor, Maritime Rowing Club down the course. Her rowers were fearless and took the lead finishing with a large gap of 5 seconds ahead and a second place finish in her heat. This 8+ was stroked by Layla Sisca, Wilton Junior Lauren Ring (7 seat), Camilla Calderwood (6 seat), Emily Barnes (5 seat), Caitlyn Getty (4 seat), Sienna Hoyos (3 seat), Charlotte Reynolds (2 seat) and Noelle Basta in bow!

Layla Sisca also stroked our Novice 4+ where she was supported by a boat of 16 year old teammates, Katie Estabrook in 3 seat, Alexandria Maniatty in 2 seat and Sophia Kearns in bow. AJ Kompiewska, Norwalk High School Junior steered the girls to victory (spoiler alert!) in her first season at CBC. AJ, former rower herself transitioned to take the wheel after a back injury in the winter with her former club. In this race, her boat finished with the fastest time in the event: 7:23.25 meaning that second place time held by Row America Rye was 7:30.99 and Greenwich Crew was 7:31.27. The girls enjoyed the racing experience and certainly learned a ton about what it takes to win.

CBC raced a third novice event, Novice quad which is an event where the bow seat does the rowers job plus the coxswains job (as there is no physical coxswain in this category). As racing conditions weren’t ideal, the novice quad stroked by Melaina Kenin, 3 seat Gwen Horn, 2 seat Layla Sisca, and bow seat Holly Hulme. There were 3 heats for this category on Saturday. CBC’s Novice 4x came in 4th in their heat and overall had a faster time than 4 other crews in the category!

The racing continued to the Varsity boats, starting with the Varsity 8+ race. Coxswain Izzy Khamish led her crew down a great heat on Saturday, finishing 2nd in their heat! The finals race for this boat was on Sunday where Senior leader Callaghan Nickerson stroked, supported by Caroline Krantz (7 seat), Annika Nelson (6 seat), Sophie Bell (5 seat), Charlotte Maschoff (4 seat), Lila Seidenberg (3 seat), Audrey Sears (2 seat), and Ava Weneck (bow seat) competed in the A final battling down the course in a seat for seat race with PNRA Mercer. CBC lost the battle by 1 second but had a great performance!

CBC 2V8+ coxed by Freshman Allison Murray had some tricks up their sleeve. On Saturday they gave the fans a lot to cheer about with their 1st place finish in their heat and then on Sunday they also battled PNRA Mercer closely down the course but took the lead in front of them finishing with a time of 7:04.62 and PNRA Mercer with a time of 7:06.15. This crew is a great mix of upperclassman and younger girls all learning and improving each day! The line up was, Iso McCoy (8 seat), Miya Lee (7 seat), Maddy Dodge (6 seat), Sylvia Freidenrich (5 seat), Ellie Lennon (4 seat), El Arnold (3 seat), Reagan Weneck (2 seat) and Charlotte Mickelborough (bow seat).

Caroline Krantz and Callaghan Nickerson both led the Varsity 4+ this weekend. Callaghan stroked the 4+ in the heat to a first place finish, securing the boat to compete in the A final on Sunday! The stern 4 of the V8+ raced the final with Krantz at stroke and had a strong race in lane 5, in close contact with second place finisher Saugatuck and ahead of Greenwich Crew, Blair, Whitemarsh Boat Club. The U17 quad gained a lot of racing experience in their first time down the course together, Tanaya Dixit (4 seat), Christina Chernin (3 seat), Nicole Busby (2 seat), Katherine Martel’s (bow seat) finished with a time of 8:10.80. Connecticut’s 2V4+ came in with a 3rd place finish ahead of Whitemarsh Boat Club, Lawrenceville, and Litchfield Hills.

The womens Varsity quad event was one of CBC’s strongest this weekend. In their heat, Lila (stroke), Reagan (3 seat), Ava (2 seat) and Charlotte (bow) dominated with a 3 second lead on 2nd place finisher, Narragansett. Securing their invitation to the A final on Sunday, they had a thrilling race to wrap up this event! The crew worked hard for their silver medals (1 second off from being gold medals!) against some very strong sculling programs. 3 seat Reagan shared, “This race was thrilling and a very rewarding experience! Despite the far from ideal rowing conditions, my crew had a terrific race as we had a strong start, and walked through a boat directly to the left of us, securing the second place spot in an extremely close sprint to the finish. It was so much fun to race that boat collectively with some of my closest friends, and my sister right behind me!”

On Sunday in a final only race, the pairs at CBC represented the club well! Callaghan Nickerson and Sophie Bell kicked off the day for the River Rats by finishing 3rd in their heat, a healthy 4 second gap between 4th place finisher, Whitemarsh Boat Club. In the last heat CBC had the other half of the winning Head of the Charles crew, Caroline Krantz and Annika Nelson who finished first in their heat and won a gold medal for having the fastest time amongst everyone in the event!

Next up was the Varsity 4- race where senior leader and Class President, Charlotte Volz stroked the boat to a 2nd place finish! She was supported by CBC Captain Charlotte Maschoff, Ellie Lennon and Miya Lee. Miya commented, “We had a solid start and were within the top 3 right away. We kept our composure through the rocky cross-trail wind and wake. Everyone in my boat stepped up to the task of supporting each other and moving the dial during this race.”

Wrapping up the racing on Sunday, the girls raced in 2 final events (I mean no surprise they raced in 97% of all female events this weekend!) Jiah coxed the U17 8+ boat to a 3rd place finish! The racing conditions were not conditions that the team experiences much on the Norwalk River but regardless, they rose to the challenge and competed. The crew finished 10 seconds ahead of Row New Jersey and 14 seconds ahead of Saugatuck Rowing Club. The 2V 2x race was another great experience for the team as the crew finished 3rd in their heat (3 seconds off of 2nd place finisher) ahead of hometown river neighbors, Maritime Rowing and Norwalk River Rowing.

Congratulations to all crews! CBC is excited to race again this upcoming weekend at The Saratoga Invitational!

Back in 2010 when CBC was established we took the San Diego Crew Classic Regatta by storm with two 8+ boats. This past weekend we did it again! The River Rats traveled out West and put on a show for the fans watching live on the beach and the fans live-streaming at home. Both the 1V8+ and the 2V8+ had exciting heat and finals races which had CBC tied at the first 200 meters with top finishing crews and complete dog fights down the course.

CBC’s 1V8 was led by the dynamic duo, Varsity Coxswain Izzy Khamish and Stroke seat Callaghan Nickerson. This was Khamish’s first time down the course but quickly got up to speed on the lay of the land. Nickerson is in her senior year at CBC and heading to Boston College in the Fall, which means it is unlikely that she will ever race at the San Diego Crew Classic again as a result she made sure to empty her boats tank every race. Callaghan was supported by 7 seat Sophie Bell, 6 seat Lila Seidenberg, 5 seat Annika Nelson, 4 seat Caroline Krantz, 3 seat Charlotte Maschoff, 2 seat Maddy Dodge and Bow seat Ava Weneck.

The San Diego Crew Classic is for many crews (definitely the East Coast crews) the first race of the spring season. It is a sprint race meaning it is a 2000 meter buoy course (like you see in the olympics) with eight boats lined up across from each other. This year San Diego provided some great racing weather on both Saturday and Sunday, lots of sunshine and a slight breeze. With the water launch at this race it is ideal to have warmer temperatures.

Our 2V8 was a boat led by High School Freshman, Allison Murray who studied the race course ahead of traveling and executed flawlessly. Murray had the support of her stroke seat Iso McCoy (High School Junior) who has had a lot of Varsity race level experience. The rest of the powerhouse squad consisted of 7 seat Miya Lee, 6 seat Audrey Sears, 5 seat Sylvia Freidenrich, 4 seat Ellie Lennon, 3 seat Elle Arnold, 2 seat Kate MacDonald, bow seat Charlotte Mickelborough.

Head Coach Liz Trond shared her thoughts on the weekend, “It was a great weekend of competing, learning and racing. Both boats really understood what National level speed is at the beginning of the season, and equally as important, it was a great weekend of teamwork and team bonding. I feel that this group of 18 athletes has set up Spring 2024 to be a great season.”

On Saturday’s heat races, both boats secured their spot in the Sunday A Final race. On Sunday our 1V8 raced at 11:50am in lane 7 stroke for stroke with Norcal Crew, Capital Crew and Holy Names Academy. The crew finished in 6th place ahead of both Norcal and Holy Names. CBC only made two changes to this years 1V8+ line up, Izzy and Lila. With this event being the most subscribed to event of the weekend, the improvement from an 8th place finish last year to a 6th place finish this year is a significant jump up. Senior leader and future Drexel Dragon, Lila Seidenberg commented,”One of my favorite things about rowing is the sense of camaraderie and our boat meetings always get me pumped up for the race. Everyone in the boat is always on the same page and has the same expectations going into the race which allows me to get excited and stay excited. Our signature hands in, ‘4-3-2-ONE’ is the last bit of assurance that we are ready to crush whatever comes our way!”

The 2V8 raced shortly after at 12:22pm in lane 8 coming off a first place start in the final and then hanging for the first half of the race with Newport and Saugatuck Rowing Clubs. As the finals race continued to unfold Murray led her crew with grit and poise as kept her foot on the gas and competed side by side with Oakland Strokes, Marin Rowing and Norcal Rowing. After an exciting 7 minutes and 44 seconds the raced ended with a strong 7th place finish for CBC. In this final CBC was one of two East Coast crews competing, all other crews were West Coast based and have been on the water training for a good amount of time. Sylvia Freidenrich from 5 seat weighed in on her experience this weekend, “We planned to have an aggressive start for both races. We definitely worked through the first 1250 meters of each race well, but lost steam towards the sprint. All in all, we exceeded our expectations of how we thought we would perform, and we are excited to work through the portions of the race we need to improve on!”

CBC is back on the East Coast and will be lining up to race this weekend at the Nereid/Port Scrimmage. Here we go CBC! Cheers to a healthy, successful and happy Spring 2024 racing season!

You guessed it! Connecticut Boat Club received honorable recognition from Connecticut Governor, Ned Lamont, on Wednesday, January 31st in Hartford, CT. The team was invited as Governor Ned Lamont’s guests as he recently learned of the girl power that this team fosters and the numerous gold medals that the team has won over the years. CBC is a small but mighty all girls rowing program that was only recently established in 2010. The invitation to Governor Ned Lamont’s office took place during an afternoon meaning that not all of the girls could take off school and attend. Two coaches, Trond and Sweitzer, were in attendance, along with the 2023 Head of the Charles Champions (Khamish, Nickerson, Krantz, Nelson and Bell) and two senior leaders (Weneck and Maschoff).

Coach Jim Sweitzer commented on the day sharing how great of a day it was along with, “Our governor was super friendly and asked intriguing questions about our team and sport which lead to wonderful in depth conversation. The girls certainly appreciated being in the Capitol building and admired the separation of power inside of the building. It’s ironic that the group of girls that were present will be eligible to vote either this year or next year for the first time, therefore meeting Mr. Lamont was a great opportunity for them to be better informed of the candidates running.”

Coincidently, Ava Weneck, one of CBC’s senior in attendance wore her Harvard University sweater, which happens to be where she will be attending school starting in the fall of 2024. Governor Ned Lamont couldn’t help but notice Ava’s sweater and shared with the group that he also attended Harvard University. This ‘no way moment’ was a fun ice-breaker!

For Varsity coxswain, Izzy Khamish, it was an extra special day as she got the invitation from Governor Ned Lamont to sit in his chair after he immediately recognized her as the coxswain amongst the group of girls. “Representing our team at the capital was a tremendous honor and motivates me as a junior in high school. I’m excited to further contribute to the team’s success and leave my mark in the coming years. Both Governor Ned Lamont and Senator Bob Duff were incredibly gracious, and their recognition of our achievements this fall and in past years, as well as the overall importance of women in sport and the value of rowing, was particularly moving” Khamish expressed with enthusiasm!

The CBC squad was also invited to Senator Bob Duff’s office after their visit with the governor. Coach Sweitzer shared that the girls were engaged in conversation throughout the day and that meeting the senator was the perfect way to end such a great afternoon. Sweitzer shared, “I learned for the first time that our senator is a Norwalk High School graduate! He resides in Norwalk which I thought was so special being that our boathouse and water time is based in Norwalk.”

The rest of the team received tons of texts with updates and pictures. Everyone as a whole is extremely excited for the recognition and support that the team is receiving. Now more than ever it feels like the 11 National Championship wins in a 14 year time spam that this non-profit, all girls team has won is spreading to a wider audience. CBC’s achievements being shared across the state and to our State Leadership brings a lot of happiness to the CBC Board Members and the Coaching Staff as everyone works very hard together to maintain the level of excellence and achievement of this club team.

Huge thank you again to Governor Ned Lamont and Senator Bob Duff for inviting us to the capitol building and making us feel so welcomed. We cannot wait to see you again and share more of our successes!

The Boys in the Boat movie has drawn a wonderful spotlight on the intensity, devotion and sportsmanship that it takes to be a rower. Without spoiling the movie, there were several great quotes referencing the sport that were made, for starters in the opening speech made by Washington Head Coach, Al Ulbrickson “not everyone is meant to row.” Knowing what he meant as he was selecting an 8 man boat out of 30+ possible men, I have to say this resonates differently at CBC. Connecticut Boat Club is a rowing club that welcomes all girls committed to the sport. If CBC ever says “not everyone is meant to row” it is surely more in the context of understanding that not every girl is willing to make the sacrifices needed to be a high performance rower. One thing that was great to see was how we as a sport have evolved from wooden oars, wooden boats and laced foot stretchers! (Thank you so much to our partner, Vespoli!)

I don’t think any rower would argue when Coach Ulbrickson said, “Stroke after stroke, it’s called swing when all eight are rowing at such perfect unison…most crews never find it but when they do- rowing is more poetry than sport”…because it’s true. The only thing that adds to that is when the rowers in the boat are friends because when your friends are rowing with you, or should I say fighting for a top place finish, you find another gear because your mate is counting on you in that moment. The friendship that the Class of 2024 has is a coaches dream. CBC’s Class of 2024 will be a group of young women impossible to forget for many reasons. Two of those reasons are Ava Weneck and Maddy Dodge.

Often times when we think of rowers we think of tall athletes and sure, there are advantages to being taller in the sport of rowing but it is not a requirement. Many of CBC’s best athletes have been on the shorter spectrum and have not only excelled at the high school level but have been top of their rowing class in college. Two examples are CBC alums, India Knight who rowed 4 years at Columbia University and Kendra Schutts who rowed at University of California, Berkeley. As both Dodge and Weneck look to finish their high school rowing career they are setting sail to embark on their college careers. Ava will be joining the Harvard-Radcliffe rowing team in the fall of 2024 and Maddy will join the Stanford rowing team in the fall as well! With both Division I athletes finishing their first chapter of rowing they had a few insights to share:

“I started my rowing career in 7th grade when my mom found a flyer for CBC’s two week summer rowing camp. I am 5’6 and personally the only time I have felt disadvantaged by my height is when I am honing my skills. It is imperative that my technique on the water reflects that of a 6 foot rower. Though I have less leeway to make mistakes on the water, I see it more as a challenge than a disadvantage, and it’s something I work on every day. My Truest, best friends are from rowing, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. By nature of this sport, you can’t help but forge strong, loving relationships with the girls around you. I know without a doubt, these girls will be my bridesmaids in my wedding!” Ava shared with enthusiasm as she reflected on how she fell in love with the sport, the one of a kind friendships she has established, and the hard work she puts into every training.

Maddy shared how she started rowing in a similar way to many: she had tried every sport and had an athletic foundation but wanted to try something new. Along came a friend of her parents and suggested rowing! Similar to Ava, Maddy is also 5’6 and feels that rowing has allowed her to always have something to work towards, also leading to experiences she never imaged. She shared, “The feeling of crossing the finish line with your teammates knowing you put in your all is always so invigorating regardless of the result. For much of my rowing career, I honestly never noticed my size or weight in comparison to my teammates. I was too busy focusing on my technique, competing to my best ability, and just having fun!” Dodge has been hooked on rowing ever since attending one of Development Team Coach Sarah’s practices in 8th grade. She most recently finished 10th at the Head of the Charles race. Her boat raced against 50 other boats and started back in 31st place (wow that’s a big jump!).

As we reflect on the Boys in the Boat movie, we certainly are wishing for the regatta shoreline train to make a come back to 2024 racing! I mean, wouldn’t it be amazing to follow every Spring season race from start to finish?! Just like that Washington Crew, our crews at CBC, ‘The Girls in the Boat’ have been rewarded in more ways than one by this sport. Weneck closed with, “In the sport of rowing, reward is only granted by hard work and determination. Through the sport of rowing, I haven’t only gotten stronger physically, but my mental fortitude has strengthened as well. The progression of rowing is not linear, and rowers will inevitably have ups and downs. It is through adversity that I’ve learned the most about myself as a rower.”

Congratulations to Connecticut Boat Club on their incredible 2023 accomplishments! News 12 Connecticut put a well deserved spot light on the team this week. CBC has been crowned Connecticut’s team of the week! As the year comes to an end all of CBC’s year long accomplishments have been resurfaced and celebrated throughout the team and state wide!

The team is looking forward to a great winter training season and getting back to spring racing in a few months! Keep a look out for CBC this spring season via our Instagram and Facebook pages! @connecticutboatclub

Link to the News 12 video:

https://connecticut.news12.com/team-of-the-week-the-connecticut-boat-club

Norwalk’s Mayor, Harry Rilling spent quality time with CBC rowers on Tuesday December 6th at the Norwalk based Boathouse. Mayor Rilling presented the rowing team with the 2023 Sports Award following the teams major 2023 accomplishments. Such accomplishments include, first place finishes at the Regional Championship and National Championship Regattas in the spring season, 9th place finish at the World Championship race in Paris, first place finishes this fall season at the Head of the Charles and Head of the Fish Regattas.

Senior leader, Callaghan Nickerson (stroke seat in the Head of the Charles winning boat) expressed how much it meant to have the Mayor of Norwalk honor the team, “Having our hard work be acknowledged means a lot. It is a privilege to represent Norwalk and it’s incredible to know that we have the support of the Norwalk community.”

Mayor Rilling expressed his gratitude to CBC for representing Norwalk and helping put Norwalk on the map. He continued his speech by recognizing CBC’s Head Coach, Liz Trond and her one of kind athletic and coaching accolades. Everyone that knows Liz knows that she is the heart and soul of CBC and the true definition of an incredible coach.

CBC is an all girls powerhouse team! The team is extremely inviting to all girls in middle and high school that want to learn how to row. CBC was established in 2010 and since then has won 11 National Championship wins. If you are interested in learning more about the sport or getting started, feel free to reach out! All contact information is available via ctboatclub.org

CBC sisters, Mia Khamish (Duke University Sophomore) and Izzy Khamish (Staples High School Junior) both won gold medals at the 2023 Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts. The Head of the Charles is the largest regatta in the world and it is a complete obstacle course for all competitors. Both Mia and Izzy are coxswains (the position in the boat that steers and gives the crew instruction) in their respective programs but both athletes have been a product of Connecticut Boat Club and the coaching/mentorship of Liz Trond.

On Saturday October 22nd Mia Khamish and her Duke 4+ crew crossed the finish line with a time of 17:46 (winning the race!). Her boat finished with a very large gap of 15 seconds ahead of silver medalist, Radcliffe and 27 seconds ahead of bronze medalist UPenn. Mia shared her thoughts, “The moment after the race finished I knew we had a really strong race because we passed about 10 boats, but I didn’t know we had won. I kind of gave my boat a little talk before going in to the dock assuring them that no matter the result, that we had done well and I was proud of them.” Coach Wendy was the one to share the first place news with the Duke Champ 4+ and their reaction was of utter shock and happiness. Additionally, they found out that they had set the new course record in the Women’s Club Four category which is an incredible asset in addition to winning a first place gold medal.

Mia had only raced the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta once before. She raced the course her senior year with Connecticut Boat Club where her boat started 17th and finished in 6th place. This time around with Duke University her Sophomore year she started bow 25th, passed roughly 10 boats to finish in first place. Following in her sisters Saturday success, younger sister Izzy Khamish took on the challenging course on Sunday October 23rd. Mia knew what an important race this would be for her sister so she decided to stay an extra day to watch her race. Mia stated, “Oh my gosh it was so cool to stay and watch Izzy. I remember asking my mom (Rimma Khamish) if it would be okay to stay another day because I knew they had a chance of winning the race and I wanted to be there to watch it. I was honestly so much more nervous for her race then my race.” Izzy Khamish is one of the Varsity Coxswains at CBC, she steered the perfect Head of the Charles course and led her Youth Women’s 4+ to a first place victory. The four rowers in Izzy’s boat raced this race/same line up last year and placed 4th place. This year in Izzy’s second time racing The Charles she earned her way into CBC’s top boat as the new addition. Izzy shared, “Winning The Charles is incredible! It was great to see our dedicated efforts pay off. I recognize that winning The Charles is a once in a lifetime experience, and doing so in high school with CBC is very special!” Izzy added her opinion on the standout moment in the race for her, “I would say near the end on the turn before the Elliot Bridge. We had overtaken bow numbers 2 and 3 and had secured in the inside line on all turns. taking the turn tight into Elliot while calling that we were closing in on bow 1 and our average split getting faster was an exhilarating feeling. I knew we had a very possible chance of winning if we went for it in the last mile.” Izzy’s boat finished with a time of 19:12 after starting fourth. Second place medalist, Greenwich Crew finished with a time of 19:26 and third place finisher, Phillips Exeter finished with a time of 19:31.

Mia raced against 50 crews in the Women’s Club Fours event and Izzy raced against 90 crews in the Women’s Youth Fours event. Mia stated with excitement, “I mean I don’t know two sisters in two different boat categories winning the Charles the same year, so I guess it adds to our life motto of ‘we don’t lose’.” It truly is a time to celebrate for both boats, their families who support through all of the season ups and downs, and all of the teammates because it truly takes a village to win at this level!

HUGE congratulations to CBC superstars, Izzy and Mia! We are so proud of you and cannot wait for next year, we vote for a 2 peat!

From high school teammates to USA National Team teammates to college teammates! Darien High School’s Annika Nelson and Caroline Krantz are heading to New Hampshire together! The dynamic duo will finish their high school rowing career at Connecticut Boat Club and then start their collegiate journey at Dartmouth College. One of the highlights of their high school career took place the summer of 2023 when Nelson and Krantz had the honor of representing Team USA at the Junior World Rowing Championship in Paris, France. “Rowing and racing at the World Championships felt incredibly different then it normally does racing at home. Being surrounded by the best U19 athletes in the world, the level of competition was unparalleled which created an exciting energy amongst all athletes. Each athlete from all nations had so much respect for each other as every athlete had a relatively similar experience in the grit, sacrifices, and hard work it took to get there” Caroline stated as she reflected on the summer.

The pair kicked off the racing in Paris with a 3rd place finish in their heat. Nelson commented,”Our heat was extremely competitive- even though it wasn’t our best race, we were happy with third place, given the crews that finished first and second in the A final as well.” She continued, “Our reps race was very fun. We went in feeling more prepared after having one race under our belt already, and we brought our energy with us down the entire course, pulling ahead of all other boats.” The pair won their repechage with a time of 7:35.75, nearly 5 seconds ahead of Italy and nearly 13 seconds ahead of Spain. Krantz shared, “One of Annika and I’s signature pre-race rituals is a special hand squeeze we created. at the start line right before every race, when the nerves are at their highest, a simple hand squeeze reminds both of us that we are in this together.”

“All Sunday races were cancelled due to wind, we raced our A/B semi Saturday morning, with our B final race only a couple hours later. We started our semifinal race in 5th place, and began to walk on Austria and Germany in the final 500 meters, which was very exciting. We didn’t catch Germany, and missed the A final by a second, but we beat Austria in just our last few strokes of the race. I had never experienced a sprint as intense as the ones in our semifinal and final races” Annika Nelson described. Caroline and Annika raced proudly in the B final representing the US Team, finishing with a time of 7:54.94 placing 9th in the world!

After the spring 2024 season with CBC, Krantz and Nelson will officially be Dartmouth bound! Caroline was asked, did you and Annika both want to go to Dartmouth together? to which she answered, “People always ask us if we ‘committed together’ or were a ‘package deal’ but quite frankly, it was pretty much a complete coincidence that we both ended up committing to Dartmouth. We didn’t know we were going on the same official visit but we both ended up falling in love with the school and rowing program there. I really am so excited to spend another four years with Annika-we have such a great connection not only in the boat but off the water as we have become one of each others best friends!” Nelson shared the same excitement as Krantz and added, “I chose Dartmouth because I saw the team is looking to build, and I think improving as a team and being a part of accomplishing goals for the first time is very exciting and a great source of motivation.”

Both athletes have learned a lot from the sport and from each other. They have had to sacrifice and devote themselves whole heartily to achieve the level of success of today. Training for worlds taught them when you set goals and remain disciplined, goals can be achieved. CBC teammates and coaching staff are so proud of both Annika and Caroline. They are sure to be a duo to look out for in their collegiate racing years! New CBC generations will absolutely know the stories of Krantz and Nelson, as they have left an incredible mark on program history.

This year’s Head of the Fish regatta brought 12 medals for Connecticut Boat Club, youth girls rowing team! Many of the CBC athletes raced multiple times throughout the weekend. It was a weekend to remember as the girls made CBC history by medaling in 12 events, of which it was the first time the team medaled in the quad and in the double. It was also the first time that CBC brought home a first place win in the single sculler event. Annika Nelson will be a name we never forget as she finished the race with a time of 15:37 ahead of second place by 5 seconds. Nelson raced against 40 other single scullers including some of her CBC peers. All CBC boats performed great and all coaches and teammates were so proud of all the single scullers. Nelson commented with excitement, “The race was super fun! It was definitely a surprise to win, since I don’t spend much time in a single. The only other time I’ve raced a single was last year at The Head of the Fish, so I knew the course and what to expect. I started 6th and was able to pass 3 boats, which kept the race exciting. I loved being able to switch it up and try an event I’m not used to!”

CBC medaled in the following events:

Varsity Single– Gold Medal

Middle School Coxed Quad– Silver Medal

Varsity Eight: Bronze Medal

Second Varsity Eight: Bronze Medal

Varsity Quad: Bronze Medal

Second Varsity Quad: Silver Medal

Varsity Four with Coxswain: Silver Medal

Second Varsity Four with Coxswain: Silver Medal

U16 Eight: Bronze Medal

Varsity Double: Bronze Medal

Novice Four with Coxswain: Bronze Medal

Varsity Quad with Coxswain: Bronze Medal

Team Captain, Charlotte Maschoff shared how she felt the team performed this weekend, “This weekend was an example of the hard work and dedication each member of the team has been putting towards this sport. After a long Fall Season our team was able to work together and put their efforts towards helping each other do their best.” It certainly was a great way to end the ‘All Team’ racing season at Connecticut Boat Club. The team is gearing up for the final race of the season in California and then will beginning Winter Training indoors.

Dreams do come true! On Sunday October 22, 2023 Norwalk River based Women’s rowing team, Connecticut Boat Club won their second Head of the Charles first place trophy. The first gold medal win for the team was in the Fall of 2011 with a strong Women’s Youth 4+. This year the club raced four boats in a variety of categories, of which winning the prestigious first place trophy in the Women’s Youth Four’s category.

Women’s Youth Four A Boat: Bow 4 finished in 1st place (90 boats raced)

Women’s Youth Four B Boat: Bow 70 finished in 21st place (90 boats raced)

Women’s Youth Coxed Quad: Bow 31 finished in 10th place (50 boats raced)

Women’s Under 17 Four: Bow 6 finished in 22nd place- due to a penalty (26 boats raced)

Assistant Coach, Cass Bruins shared her thoughts on the day, “All of the HOCR crews truly exceeded expectations. They trained hard, and came together to put up the best races they possibly could have- and I’m super proud of them. Having two young Novice coxswains was daunting going in, but they (and the Varsity coxswains) executed the course beautifully. I’m stoked to say that CBC’s competitive dial was turned up a few notches this weekend, and it’s going to continue to do so as the year progresses.”

It is unique to race the same line up two years in a row, but that is what CBC did in the 4+ A boat. Callaghan Nickerson (stroke seat), Caroline Krantz (3 seat), Annika Nelson (2 seat), and Sophie Bell (bow seat) returned with a mission to win the Head of the Charles after placing 4th place last year. The 4 athletes shared, “We have worked all year on accomplishing this goal. We were always reminded that this would be our last time racing HOCR together and that was our biggest motivation. Crossing the finishing line we felt joy and excitement. We knew we did well because we passed two crews in the first mile but we didn’t know we won. When we found out we won we felt nothing but happiness and a sense of accomplishment, what we had dreamed of and worked so hard for payed off.” The crew won the race by 14 seconds and competed against 89 other crews.

The gold medalists raved about their fearless coxswain, Izzy Khamish (11th grade Varsity Coxswain). “Izzy kept us in the perfect line to get us ahead. Each call she made about walking on the boats got us more motivated. There was a lot of pressure on Izzy the entire race but at one bridge there were three boats approaching and Izzy communicated to us that we had to make a move now and of course we responded well to that.”

CBC’s 4+ B boat had an incredible race as well. Starting Bow 70 and caught up to Bow 62 (passing 5 boats). Ava Weneck senior leader (2 seat of the boat) expressed what an incredible race it was from start to finish. The boat also consisted of Sylvia Freidenrich another strong powerhouse senior leader sat in 3 seat, Junior leaders, Isobel McCoy stroked the boat and Charlotte Mickelborough bowed the 4+. Allison Murray (Varsity Coxswain) dominated the course in her first time down the Charles River!

Jillian Chlebowski, Varsity Coxswain steered the 10th place finish for CBC’s Coxed Quad event. Chlebowski commented, “This was my second time racing The Charles, starting in the second half almost helped our boat out more because we had more boats to look forward to and to hunt down throughout the race. We passed 3 boats on the course and closed in on the 4th boat in the final sprint. Crossing the finish line was so great and I could tell that everyone had worked the hardest that they could’ve, it wasn’t perfect but every rower gave it all they had.” This all senior boat was coxed by Jillian, stroked by Audrey Sears, Charlotte Maschoff in 3 seat, Maddy Dodge in 2 seat and bowed by Miya Lee.

Connecticut Boat Club’s final race of the day was the U17 coxed four. Jiah Baak (coxswain), Layla Sisca (stroke), Norah Surette (3 seat), Reagan Weneck (2 seat) and Leighton Busby (bow seat) took on this fun and challenging category. “I’m a high school freshman and it was my first time racing The Charles”, said Leighton Busby. She continued, “The traffic on the river was crazy. We were a little shaken because earlier in the race we were gaining on a boat and as we passed, our oars clashed badly and cost us some speed. When we came off the water we regained our confidence after talking to Coach Liz about the race and the experience.”

It was a day to remember in CBC history. Head Coach, Liz Trond leads an elite level team. CBC is looking forward to next year’s 59th Head of the Charles race. Interested in learning more about CBC and rowing in general? Please visit our website for more information: ctboatclub.org