The Dinos rowing team won gold on Sunday October 24 in the Collegiate Women's Fours division at the 56th Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA. The Head of the Charles is the largest and one of the most prestigious regattas in the world, attracting competitors from all over the globe. The crew of Hannah Anderson, Claire O'Brien, Eliza Dawson, Courtney Kruschel, and coxswain Ali Webster finished the 3-mile course (4.8 km) in 18:34.7, 21.1 seconds ahead of the second-place crew from Barry University. There were 32 entries in the event.

The crew was led by stroke seat and team captain Hannah Anderson, known for her endurance and grit. Anderson, Dawson, and Kruschel previously placed 3rd in this event at the 55th Head of the Charles in 2019. Coxswain Ali Webster, normally a lightweight rower, steered an excellent course along the river, through six bridges and around five turns, to ensure the fastest line for the crew. The entire crew began their rowing careers as novices with the Dinos.

Claire O'Brien, the only rower who was not in the 2019 crew, said "I had no concept of how well we were doing until we were passing [defending champions] Florida. Passing them and hearing our teammates cheering on shore was really special and motivating."

Co-captain Eliza Dawson said, "As soon as we crossed the finish line, everyone was excited. We didn't know yet that we had won, but we knew it was a good race and we were on an emotional high."

Graduating athlete and previous captain Courtney Kruschel recalled "it was really emotional being pushed off the dock for my last Head of the Charles as a Dino by our coach Mark because it's also his last time coaching us here. We were committed to making it a good race for him and all of our teammates back home. When we finished, Mark and I had a big hug and a cry together."

The Dinos also sent a Women's Double to the regatta. Anna Bender and Siska Bossuyt placed 3rd in the Collegiate category in the Championships Women's Double. Olivia McMurray, a Dinos alumna, also won gold and set a new event record in the Women's Club Four racing as the Calgary Rowing Club.

This is the second time the UCRC has sent crews to the prestigious race in Boston, which is the largest regatta in the world (https://www.hocr.org/). Full results are available at https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/results2/eventResults.jsp?job_id=6143&event_id=7.