PCRA Rowers Take Gold in Canadian Regatta

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Pelham Community Rowing Association (PCRA) varsity and masters took great pride in ending the summer season medaling in prestigious national and international competitions on the very same weekend.

Coming off of two Club National Championships wins in July, PCRA’s varsity rowers demonstrated their athletic prowess on the international stage at last week’s running of the 130th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catherine’s, Ontario. 

Long considered one of the top three regattas in the world, competing at Canadian Henley is on every serious rower’s bucket list. Just making finals at this elite level of oarsmanship is, itself, considered quite a feat. Nine rowers from PCRA were selected to compete in various combinations of events, each of them making it through to finals, ending the week-long series of races with two fourth place finishes, one second place finish and the Thomas G. Gannon Memorial Trophy in the Under 19 Women’s Quadrupple Sculls event, a boat length ahead of last year’s winning powerhouse, South Niagara Rowing Club. 

Despite a quick start off the line, PCRA’s Under 19 Quad had quite a battle to the finish during the championship final on Sunday. The second place boat from South Niagara challenged the team through the first half of the race, matching them stroke for stroke in an eager attempt to pull ahead. As the bow seat of the SNRC boat frantically called out move after move to her crew, the Pelham boat remained calm and focused, never losing their slight hold on first place. It wasn’t until three quarters through the 2,000-meter race that Pelham began to walk away, breaking SNRC’s spirit as they opened up water between the two boats. Using all of their strength in the last 500 meters of the race, PCRA finished a full five seconds before South Niagara, crossing the finish line spent, but elated.

“I couldn’t imagine a better way to end our two year journey in this boat. We have been through so much together. Having the race of our lives and bringing home the first Henley Gold for our club was definitely the perfect way to say goodbye to my teammates as they leave for college,” said Liliane Lindsay, 15, of Harrison.

This PCRA Quad has been rowing together for five seasons, with an impressive bounty of medals to show for their longevity and horsepower. Amongst an impressive list of first place wins at regattas throughout the Northeast, they were two-time New York State Champions, qualifying them for competition at USRowing Youth Nationals, where they came in tenth last year and earned a silver medal this past June. 

Tessa Dikkers (Pelham), Yasmine Hemida (Mamaroneck), Claudia Jensen (Bronxville), and Lindsay came into the week’s competition in Canada unsure if they would have what it takes against boats from all over the world. Handily coming in first in both heats and semi finals, they were up against some of the world’s top junior rowers, from Mexico’s Junior National team to many elite clubs from both the United States and Canada.

These same girls also competed in an eight person boat in the Under 23 category, even though their average age was just 17, coming in a remarkable fourth place in extremely tough competition, advancing directly to finals after a blistering win in their heat. 

Hemida and Lindsay also took second place in the Under 23 Women’s Quad event, despite yet again being by far the youngest entry. They had the lead for the first 750 meter, but were worn down by eventual winners, Montreal Rowing Club. The crew took great pride in the fact that even though they finished second they still broke the long standing course record in the event with an astonishing 6:36, an unheard of time for high school-aged athletes.

Joining them in the quad were with boatmates Abigayle Young and Hannah Solis-Cohen, both of whom have represented the United States at Junior World Competition. Young will be rowing for Yale in the fall, and Solis-Cohen will be joining teammate Dikkers at the University of Virginia. The final two rowers from the 8+, Emma Landauer and MaryGail DiBuono, also took fourth in the Under 23 Women’s Lightweight Double. 

Dikkers’ mother, Mieke, did double duty throughout the week, rowing herself in several events at USRowing Masters Nationals in Worcester, MA, while flying to Canada in between races to cheer on her daughter.

Dikkers’ own quad had come in fifth earlier in the week at Maters Nationals. On Sunday, the Mixed E 8+ (PCRA Composite) consisting of both men and women, secured an impressive third place in a nail-biting photo finish, with less than one second separating the top three boats. 

With Dikkers rowing alongside PCRA teammates Debra Orlando, Jane Carmody and Susan Stirton Sales, all of Pelham, Gerry Houlian (Crestwood) and Dan Hughes (Bronxville), the average age in this bronze-winning boat was 55, before adding in Bates College coxswain Emma Kate Lindsay (Harrison). Some of the PCRA Masters have been rowing since college, others having only learned to row relatively recently at PCRA.

Varsity and masters medaling on the same day, hundreds of miles apart, within one hour of each another, brought equal pride and inspiration to the entire PCRA family. 

The congratulatory texts, tweets, and e-mails between the athletes showed the high regard each group has for the success of their rowing teammates, no matter their age.