Town Honors Greenwich Crew For Historic Regatta Performances

GREENWICH, CT — There were smiles all around on Friday at Town Hall, as the Greenwich men's and women's varsity 8+ crew teams were honored for their historic performances at the 2023 Henley Royal Regatta in England earlier this month.

The women's team defeated several UK-based crew programs en route to besting Deerfield Academy (Massachusetts) in the championship for the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy. The team was the only American boat to claim a title.

The men's team was knocked out by UK powerhouse Eton College, but put up a strong fight in one of the best races of the event.

First Selectman Fred Camillo and his fellow Board of Selectmen members Lauren Rabin and Janet Stone McGuigan handed out certificates of recognition to the team and coaches as friends and family proudly looked on.

The accomplishment by the student-athletes is the latest in a year full of triumphs for Greenwich sports teams in 2022-2023.

"I want to salute you all for your great accomplishments. This is really quite a year for Greenwich — a year like no other," said Camillo, who nicknamed Greenwich "Titletown, CT," after the famous "Titletown, USA," moniker for the NFL's Green Bay Packers of the 1960s.

"Any championship I think is a great accomplishment, whether it's within town or beyond the town's borders," Camillo added. "Any time you do well as a team, it's great. When you win championships, that's saying something. That's a legacy, and it's something they can never take away from you."

Mike Wieneke, director of rowing for Greenwich Crew, told Patch he's proud of what the team was able to accomplish.

"This is something that was always a dream of our program and for me, as director of the program, to send crews just over to Henley to compete and race," Wieneke explained. "It really talks to how amazing the group of athletes are that we have, and the depth of the program."

Women's head coach Heidi Hunsberger also spoke about how proud she was of the team.

"I think they showed a lot of stoicism going over there. I think they represented not only themselves but the rest of the team really well," she said.

For coxswain Francie McKenzie and Brooke Legenzowski, a captain, the championship was the crowning achievement of their Greenwich Crew careers.

McKenzie, a recent Greenwich High School graduate, will row at Princeton University next year. Legenzowski, who just graduated from John Jay High School (Cross River, N.Y.) will row at Stanford University.

"It was super-exciting and a very surreal experience for us. It was tough racing. It was a moment of relief as well," McKenzie said of crossing the finish line to capture the title.

"It feels really fulfilling," Legenzowski added. "It feels exactly the way we wanted to wrap up our high school career. We worked so hard for so many years, and I couldn't have asked for a better ending."

State Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-36) and state Rep. Rachel Khanna (D-149) also issued citations from the Connecticut state government.

"All these other championships [this year] put us on the map statewide, but you put us on the map worldwide which is truly impressive," Fazio told the student-athletes.

Khanna congratulated the team on behalf of Greenwich's delegation to Hartford.

"Greenwich Crew's win in the junior women's 8 event represents years of hard work, sweat, and blisters from these young women. It's also a testament to coaches, teammates and families who have supported them," Khanna said.

"We all know that sports are so important to keeping kids physically and mentally healthy, but also teaching perseverance and tenacity. Clearly, both teams excelled in this."

The student-athletes and coaches who were honored Friday:

Women's Varsity 8+

• Cox: Francie McKenzie
• 8: Adair Beck
• 7: Percy Wayne
• 6: Phoebe Wise
• 5: Katie Ruff
• 4: Julia Doss
• 3: Lauren Koester
• 2: Brooke Legenzowski
• 1: Cassidy McKee
• Spare: Phalen Bryant
• Coaches: Heidi Hunsberger, Catherine Starr, Paul Ruggeberg

Men's Varsity 8+

• Cox: Elena Seguin
• 8: William Drinkall
• 7: Maxwell Raabe
• 6: Samuel Wilson
• 5: Max Willott
• 4: Marcus Chung
• 3: Alex Willott
• 2: Harry Waters
• 1: Neelam Govindaraj
• Spare: Felix Dosmond
• Coaches: Cary Wasserman, Bert Harney, Kelsey Barolak