CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Racing for the second time this fall, Catholic women's rowing placed 29th in the women's collegiate eights division at the Head of the Charles Regatta on Sunday.

Held on the banks of the Charles river since 1965, The Head Of The Charles Regatta is the world's largest three-day rowing event. This year marks the third time in program history that Catholic has been selected to participate.

At the Head of the Charles last year, Catholic placed 27th/35 with a time of 19:41.49. The Cardinals bested their time by almost a minute, crossing the line in 18:54.266 this time around. They were just shy of 28th-place Rochester and a full second clear of 30th-place WPI. 

The crew reached the first checkpoint in 4:26.243, clocked a split of 5:52.121 on the second leg, and finished with a final split of 5:17.859. They were able to pull ahead of quality teams down the stretch including Flordia, Wellesley, St. Lawrence, and Clark.

A very similar crew competed together a week ago at the Navy Day Regatta, with the only change coming at the coxswain position. Katherine Hourani directed the boat alongside Anne Mountcastle (stroke), Mary Igoe (7), Lauren McGinn (6), Charlotte Fritz (5), Bridget Robben (4), Claudia Hindley (3), Katherine Elizabeth Ma (2), and Ellie Tynan (bow). 

Next, Catholic will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to compete at the Head of the Schuylkill on Saturday, October 26.