HENLEY, England -- The Mercyhurst College men's rowing team will compete at the prestigious and historic Henley Royal Regatta on June 30 - July 5, 2009.  Mercyhurst will race for the Visitors' Challenge Cup against teams from across the world, including Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland and Australia.

The Lakers have been in England training during this week and will learn of their first opponent on Saturday, June 27 when the draws for the knock-out format are announced.
 
Unlike multi-lane international regattas, Henley still operates a knock-out draw with only two boats racing in each heat and the winner advancing to the next opponent.

The Regatta officially opens on Wednesday, with the Lakers completing their first race on Thursday.

To learn more about the Henley Royal Regatta, and to view racing schedules and results, please visit th official website by clicking here.

Head coach Adrian Spracklen comments on the trip thus far:

Friday, June 26
"Today the last few spots were up to for grabs as crews competed in a time trial. The Mercyhurst crew gained automatic qualification so used the day to train with another crew. In a series of two minute pieces against the Mitsubishi rowing club from Japan. The Lakers easily won all the scrimmage pieces including one against a high school from USA. Racing is just what we needed. This is the first racing the crew has done and it did a lot to settle them down.  The draw is tomorrow and I hope we get a favorable draw. Tomorrow we will know who to focus on for our first race."

Thursday, June 25
"It is day four and things are going well. The guys are slowly overcoming jet lag and they are getting used to the long days. It is light by 4 a.m.  and stays light till after 10 p.m. Thankfully we do not have to go through qualifiers which are tomorrow and will determine who even gets to race. The team are enjoying england and everything it has. We have been training twice a day and visiting some local sights between practices. The final preparation for the regatta are almost complete that began in March. The draw for the regatta takes place on Saturday at Henley town hall."


Visitors' Cup Challege Entries
172  Army Rowing Club and Thames Rowing Club
173  Cambridge University
174  Cardiff University and Durham School
175  Durham University
176  Galway Rowing Club, Ireland
177  Isis Boat Club
178  Leander Club
179  Mercyhurst College, U.S.A.
180  Molesey Boat Club
181  National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
182  New York Athletic Club and Camp Randall Rowing, U.S.A.
183  Newcastle University and Dukla Praha, Czech Republic
184  Nottingham University
185  Oxford Brookes University
186  Ruderklub am Wannsee, Berlin and Hannoverscher Ruderclub von 1880 e.V., Germany
187  St. Hild & St. Bede College, Durham
188  University of Queensland, Australia and Cambridge University
189  Wallingford Rowing Club