Darlington’s men and women’s rowing teams competed at the
Head of the Hooch regatta in Chattanooga Nov. 3 in front of over 10,000 spectators and against some of the stiffest rowing competition in the nation.
The women’s novice 4 crew, consisting of Laura Lynch, Viola Verbrueggen, Nina Luenstedt, Stephanie Thomas and cox Katie Tullos, earned a bronze medal in one of the most exciting races of the day, and all of Darlington's crews established personal best times in their events.
"I assure you that nothing accomplished today was easy for the team," said assistant coach Chip Stetson. "Everyone demonstrated extreme dedication and a huge will to succeed. I am extremely proud of them."
The Head of the Hooch, jointly sponsored by the Atlanta Rowing Club and the Lookout Rowing Club of Chattanooga, was established in 1981 on the Chattahoochee River at Roswell. Because of the popularity of this event, and rowing as a sport, it was moved to the larger Tennessee River venue in downtown Chattanooga in 2005. Over 1,300 boats from clubs, high schools, and colleges all over the nation competed on the three-mile long course running along the Chattanooga downtown waterfront.
The women’s novice 4 race was one of the most exciting of the day. Just as Darlington's boat came into the home stretch of the finish line, it was cut off by another boat. In front of hundreds of cheering spectators, including Headmaster Tom Whitworth, Darlington managed to pass the other boat on the shore side of the river, leaving them in perfect position for a thrilling neck-and-neck race to the finish with Huntsville's Rocket City Rowing Club. In the end, the Darlington girls took the bronze medal for this event, bested only by the Orlando Area Rowing Society and Atlanta’s St. Andrew’s Rowing Association, both of whom have over 100 members.
Darlington raced three other boats on Saturday, all of which competed well, according to coaches. Because of the small size of Darlington's crew, several rowers participated in more than one race.
Chad Collins, Hunter Hardeman, Will Thoms, Kent Caraway, and cox Maddee Briggs rowed the men’s novice 4 event. They finished No. 10 out of 22 boats, far outpacing their previous finish two weeks ago on the same course.
Katie Tullos, Caroline Steverson, Jennifer Johnson, Wiebke Scheppmann and cox Hunter Hardeman rowed the women’s youth 4.
"Despite the fact that four of these five rowers were novices, this team had to compete in the more advanced classification according to event rules," said Stetson. "They managed to finish ahead of eight other boats. Had they been able to compete in the novice category, they would have finished No. 4."
Clint Monteith and John Tullos rowed in the men’s pairs sculling event.
"The decision to race in the pairs event was made only five days earlier, so they had limited practice time," said Stetson. "But these boys still managed to finish ahead of five other teams, which is great."
Rowing is a unique sport at Darlington. The men and women’s teams are coached simultaneously by community coaches David Corbin and Chip Stetson and faculty coach Clara Hoellerbauer. The teams compete in both the fall and spring seasons so that rowers have the opportunity to participate year-round. The team travels by bus to Ridge Ferry Park for daily practice on the Oostanuala river. For more information about rowing, please contact Clara Hoellerbauer at
choellerbauer@darlingtonschool.org.
