AJRA showcased great depth in the program this past weekend, with impressive results from the Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta. Teams from across the Southeast and Midwest come to Tennessee for a full day of racing, and AJRA rowers were able to race at a high level and perform well against tough competition. This was the last regular-season regatta for the team, and all squads are looking forward to building more speed in these last few weeks before SE Regionals.

Results from the AJRA racing squad were highlighted with a gold-medal performance by the Varsity Men’s Lightweight 8+, which puts the team into a good position heading into Regionals. The women’s varsity team was led by the Varsity 8+, losing a hard-fought battle to St. Louis Rowing Club, with the team also posting top-3 finishes in the 2nd Varsity and 3rd Varsity 8+’s. Both novice teams faced the stiffest competition yet of the spring season, bringing home 5 medals between them and gaining important race experience.

AJRA Medalists

1st place: Men’s Lightweight 8+, Women’s U17/3rd Varsity 8+, Men’s 2nd Varsity 4+, Men’s U17/3rd Varsity 4+, Women’s U17/3rd Varsity 4+, Women’s 2nd Novice 4+

2nd place: Women’s Varsity 8+, Men’s 2nd Novice 8+, Women’s 2nd Novice 8+, Men’s Lightweight 4+, Women’s Varsity 4+, Women’s Lightweight 4+, Women’s 2nd Varsity 4+, Women’s 1st Novice 4+, Men’s Youth 2-

3rd place: Men’s 2nd Varsity 8+, Women’s 2nd Varsity 8+, Women’s U17/3rd Varsity 8+ B

For full results, please check RegattaCentral. Team points trophies will be announced by the regatta later this week.

AJRA Novice Rowers returned from Oak Ridge, Tennessee with some awesome results and had a lot of fun. The Novice Men impressed with their focus and enthusiasm. The guys did a great job and as Coach Adrian said “had to work for it-one of the best races they have had in a long time.”  The 8+ boats came in 2nd, 5th, and 13th with our A boat finishing 32 seconds ahead of 3rd place! Everyone worked really well together at Secret City, which was twice as competitive as their last race and excellent preparation for Head of the Hooch. The 8+ B boat came in ahead of 4 other teams’ A boat.  And finishing strong in the 4+: Novice Men B boat beat 7 A boats and AJRA C boat beat both of A and B boats of SA.Well done, VM!

Overall the Novice Women had a great day. They came in 1st, 4th and 8th in the Novice Women’s 8+ event. Coach Anna commented on how solid the 4’s looked bringing home 2nd, 4th, and 8th in the Novice Women’s 4+event. The highlights of the day were coming in first place in 8+ and beating SA by 12 seconds after trailing them by 16 seconds in our previous competition. The C boat can also be proud of beating 3 A boats in the 8+.

Secret City was instrumental in bringing everyone together and getting serious for the upcoming weekend in Chattanooga!