HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England — The Cornell women's rowing team commenced its racing portion of their trip to the 2025 Henley Women's Regatta, competing in a pair of time trial races held Friday morning on the River Thames.

"The trip has been going well," said Steve Coppola, the Bob Staley '57 Head Coach of Cornell Women's Rowing. "Training has been intense, but the women have been enjoying having an opportunity to row without having to complete their studies."

Cornell's 1V8 crew were one of 13 crews who did not qualify to compete for the Ron Needs Challenge Cup, missing the cutoff by nearly four seconds.

"I thought they had a gritty race and put in a valiant effort against many crews that were composed of post-collegiate elite athletes," Coppola said. "We're disappointed that we didn't make it through to the next round, but very proud of the effort and the crew left it all out there on the racecourse."

Advancing to the main draw of the Colgan Foundation Cup for the Aspirational Academic 8+ was Cornell's 2V8 crew, where it finished among the top 16 crews in Friday's time trial.

"They had a similar quality piece as the varsity 8, but were facing much more level competition," Coppola said. "The crew advanced to the next round and will be racing the University of London tomorrow at 1:56 p.m. BST (8:56 a.m. ET). University of London is going to be a very tough matchup. They are arguably the top-seeded crew in the event. If we can make it through them, we have a pretty good path to the final, but it will take our best piece to accomplish that task."

Saturday's race will be streamed live on the Henley Women's Regatta's YouTube page, which can be accessed after signing up for a monthly membership of $4.99/month.

BOATINGS
1V8: Emmy Tyrcha (coxswain), Amelia King (stroke), Emma Leary, Ellie VanHouten, Alexis Engman, Alexandra Fazler, Elise Rueppel, Eleanor Bijeau, and Chloe Darcy (bow).

2V8: Hannah Woodhull (coxswain), Sophie Monroe (stroke), Fabia Emblem, Zoe Benitez, Anna Duffy, Mary Gray, Hannah Hely, Kate Hahnenberg, Kyra McCarrick (bow).

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Subject to change
1:56 p.m. BST (8:56 a.m. ET): Cornell University (2V8) vs. University of London