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Oriel's act tough to follow
Oriel, who start head crew in today's Oxford summer eights, look as if they will be difficult to dislodge. Oriel have two winning Blues on board in Peter Gish and Richard Hull. The remainder of the Oriel crew appear to have excellent credentials and their overall strength should be sufficient in the defence of their headship.Oxford's rowing is in an ascendancy and there is glittering talent abounding in many crews. New College, in second place, are coming on in leaps and bounds and are coached once again by Daniel Topolski. New College contain Tom Cadoux-Hudson, the world medal winner and Blue, together with Adam Brooks and Nick Watkin, the Isis oarsmen. University College, third, will rely on Sigurd Berven and Tony Maton, the Americans, and Justin Cheadle, another Isis oarsman.
But a crew with rising ambitions will certainly be Hertford, who start fourth in the second division. Hertford boast two Blues in Mike Gaffney, the Oxford winning stroke and American Rhodes scholar, and Paul Gleeson.
Osler House, starting in third place in division one among the women, are strongly fancied for the headship by Saturday. Altogether there will be 170 men's and women's eights competing over the next four days, representing over 1,500 competitors. [Starting Order]
New College main threat to Oriel
Oriel, starting Head in the Oxford Summer Eights which begin today, may have their work cut out to stay there with New College, in second place, strong challengers for the top.Adam Brooks, the New College stroke recently elected OUBC secretary, will have a greater incentive than most to go ahead, having stroked Caius to the Head of Mays at Cambridge last year.
A college making its way steadily up the river recently has been Hertford. They have Oxford's stroke and new president, American Mike Gaffney, and another Blue, Paul Gleeson, aboard, but start only 16th.
Oriel leave pursuers behind
On the first day of the Oxford Summer Eights on a smoother Isis, Oriel made a good start in defence of their headship of the men's Division I, rowing smoothly with well over two lengths to spare over their immediate pursuers, New College, who themselves had three lengths to spare over University College.There were only two bumps in the men's Division I. Keble overhauled Pembroke and the sandwich boat St John's moved into the first division at the expense of Magdalen.
At the top of the women's first division, Osler House made a spectacular late charge to bump St Hugh's and move into second place. At the Oxford University Boathouse St Hugh's, in second place, overlapped the head crew, Somerville, and looked poised to go ahead [sic] with Osler House almost a length down. But St Hugh's could not make the bump and Osler House in a devastating late sprint reeled St Hugh's back to advance their claim on the headship. [List of Bumps & Starting Order]
Oriel at head of fairly orderly queue on Isis
Oriel rowed over at the head of Oxford Summer Eights and the only prospect of a bump in the next eight places at the top of the men's divisions on The Isis yesterday was when St Edmund Hall closed to within half-a-length of Worcester's rudder.At the tail end of the division, however, Wadham bumped Lincoln at Donnington Bridge and St John's, the sandwich boat from Division Two, made further progress at the expense of Magdalen.
Paul Gleeson, a Blue in the past two victorious Oxford Boat Race crews, stroked Hertford to bump Queen's in two minutes 34 seconds in Division Two.
St Hugh's failed to take advantage of their overlap on Somerville at the head of the Women's Division and were caught by Osler House who spurted effectively at the boathouses. [List of Bumps]
Osler take over at the top and look unbeatable.
Osler House medical students, rather than medieval students as reported in the local Press, predictably went to the top of the women's first division yesterday on the second day of the Oxford University Summer Eights.Osler overhauled the head crew, Somerville, at the top of the Green Bank. On Wednesday, Osler, with a sprint finish, bumped St Hugh's, who nearly dislodged Somerville, and demoted them to third place. Osler look unbeatable and destined to rule the roost, accidents apart, by the end of the competition on tomorrow evening.
It should be a battle royal today in this division between Somerville and St Hugh's for second place.
Five crews were fined for disobeying marshals' orders and delaying the start in the men's first division. The rebels were eventually brought to heel.
The race pattern was much the same as on Wednesday, with a lively and talented Oriel crew defending their headship for the second day running. They opened up a good lead on their immediate pursuers, New College and University College. Hertford bumped Trinity to rise to second place in the second division in their challenge for a first division place today. [List of Bumps & Starting Order]
Somerville caught by Osler House
Osler House went head of the women's divisions on the second day of the Oxford Summer Eights. Somerville narrowly escaped being deposed by St Hugh's in the first day's racing but were decisively caught along the green bank by Osler yesterday.St Hilda's, starting six, slipped down a further place when Pembroke moved in for the kill, missed, but successfully realigned themselves for the second assault. Brasenose and New College both made their bumps at Donnington Bridge.
The first four places in the Men's Divisions were unchanged with Oriel rowing over head. University pressing New College strongly as they passed OUBC while Christ Church dropped languidly out of contact.
Lower down, Hertford, St Catherine's and Brasenose each made their second bump while only 2ft at the finish separated Oriel 2 from being caught by Jesus. [List of Bumps]
Oriel rowed over and there was no change in the next seven places behind them in the First Division of the Oxford Summer Eights; but Hertford, who had climbed up from the Second Division, over-bumped Wadham and finished ninth.Osler House were unassailable as head of the women's divisions, Somerville trailed three lengths behind the medical students.
Oriel has comfortable row to bumps victory
Oriel, the head crew, rowed over comfortably on the final day of the Oxford University Summer Eights on Saturday, leaving the four nearest challengers again involved in close combat which went unrewarded. [List of Bumps & Finishing Order]
Happiness for Hertford is overbump
Hertford celebrated their arrival in the first division of Oxford Summer Eights by overbumping Wadham opposite the New Cut after St John's had caught Balliol along the Green Bank on Saturday.The order at the head remained undisturbed with Oriel, New College, University and Christ Church more evenly spaced than at any time in the previous three days.
In the women's divisions St Hugh's pressed Somerville to the end but neither crew was in the class of Osler House, now head.
Both Brasenose men's and women's first eights won their blades and University 3 claimed a record by making their four bumps in only 84 strokes.
Oriel lead the way on last day
Oriel and Osler House rowed over comfortably on the final day of the Oxford University summer eights on Saturday to finish as head men's and women's crew respectively. [Bumps Chart]
Though the weather for Eights Week last year was not spectacular, the rowing at the top end of the Men's First Division was of some interest to the connoisseur. Oriel rowed over Head each day by about four or five lengths, tending to take this lead early on, and then settle. University, with a heavy if slightly unrefined crew, had an impressive week, harrying New College, the second-place crew, on each of the first three days: on the Saturday, however, New College pulled out all the stops and left University about four lengths behind at the finish. Oriel responded in kind by leaving New College, once again, a similar distance back.There was, in fact, only one bump in the top six crews: that of St Edmund Hall on Worcester. Further down, though, there was more excitement. Hertford entered the First Division and got seven bumps in the process. On the last day they had to achieve an over-bump on Wadham, as St John's, starting ahead of them, had quickly bumped out on a rather slow Balliol crew. The required over-bump was obtained, not least due to a crab in the Wadham boat.
Blades were also won by Brasenose, in the Second Division, starting with a bump on Oriel II who had hit the bank in the Gut. This set them up for bumps on the rapidly descending Exeter and Queen's (both later bumped by Oriel II) and on St Catherine's.
The Women's Headship was taken with some ease by Osler House, who bumped St Hugh's and then the reigning Head Crew, Somerville, on the first two days, and they rowed over well clear, with seven lengths on the Saturday. A feature of the Osler crew was good technical ability and cohesion maintained at higher rates than the rest of the Division.
St Hugh's, who remained third, stayed together until ninth week, when they won one of the two Collegiate prizes on offer at the inaugural Henley Women's Regatta, beating University in the final, and recording a faster time than the winner of the other prize (Churchill Coll., Cambridge).
There was doubt in the minds of some onlookers over the relative speeds of Oriel, the Head crew, and Hertford, while the rash actually reported that the latter were in fact faster. A local publican even offered the money for a wager-match between the two: but apart from endangering the oarsmen's amateur status, this was thought to detract from the honour attached to the Headship itself, and the contest did not take place. Earlier in the term, however, Oriel had shown their speed by reaching the finals of the Leyland DAF 'Power Sprints', televised on Channel 4; they were, however, unable to compete due to the event's coincidence with Eights Week.
Osler House
B: | J. Gurney
| 2: | A. Rickard
| 3: | F. Meyer
| 4: | C. Johnson
| 5: | M. Page
| 6: | J. Getley
| 7: | R. Barton
| S: | H. Cocker
| C: | S. Essajee
| Coach: | Pete Sudbury
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