Local Crew Rows To Third-Place Finish In Boston

Published: November 11, 2004

BOSTON—A four-woman crew from St. Andrew Rowing Club in Roswell placed third in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston during the weekend of Oct. 24.

Competing against 33 other teams in the Youth Fours Women division, including some college boats, the St. Andrew women, who are docked at St. Andrew Church, Roswell, finished the grueling 2.3-mile race in 14:42:858, less than eight seconds behind the winning Princeton University women. The Ottawa Rowing Club came in second.

The St. Andrew crew was paced by coxswain Catie Litchfield, who is a senior at Pope High School in Marietta. The rowers were (from stern) Bridget Fowler, a senior at Marist School in Atlanta, who will attend the University of Virginia with a rowing scholarship; Nancy Arrington, a junior at Pope High School; Elizabeth Robb, a sophomore at St. Francis School in Alpharetta, and Emily Lane, a senior at The Walker School in Marietta.

Dan McNair, coach of St. Andrew, expressed his great pride in his team.

“We couldn’t be prouder of these girls,” said McNair. “It’s something they’ve been thinking about and working toward for several seasons, and it requires a near-daily commitment on their part.”

McNair said the third-place finish in the Head of the Charles is a national achievement that certainly ranks among the most distinguished moments in the 16-year history of the St. Andrew Rowing Club.

The Head of the Charles, which winds past Cambridge and near Harvard Square, is widely recognized as the major regatta of the fall long-course season. “Head” races during the fall season are typically conducted on three-mile courses, and the boats are sent out on the course on staggered starts, 10-15 seconds behind the previous boat.

During the race, faster boats overtake and pass the slower ones that are on the course, but they have to choose the optimum moment to do so.

“It’s a tactical race, and Catie Litchfield did a splendid job of steering, keeping a steady pace and choosing the best strategy for passing,” McNair said.

The rowers’ effort was phenomenal, too, he said.

“We knew we had a strong team, and we had set a goal of a top five finish in the Head of the Charles,” McNair said. “As the race drew nearer and nearer, the girls talked about medaling, but there are so many factors that go into that. You have to have a near perfect race and sometimes the factors are out of your control. In this case, they rowed the perfect race that they prepared for.”

The teams the St. Andrew women rowed against were from as far away as Florida, Chicago, Oklahoma, Oregon and Ontario, Canada. The Youth Fours Women division is open to college freshmen under 20 years old as well as high schoolers. In addition to the winners from Princeton, college teams in this division included Boston College, Northeastern University and the University of Tulsa.

St. Andrew Rowing Club has more than 100 members from Atlanta-area schools. The club, which practices on the Chattahoochee River from a boathouse behind St. Andrew Catholic Church in Roswell, is open to all young men and women in eighth grade through high school who have a desire to enjoy themselves while learning a sport that increases strength and endurance. For more information, visit the club’s Web site at

www.standrewrowing.com.