The novice ladies won second place in the novice four, the novice men won first and third place in the novice eight category and the men’s varsity team placed second in the V8 category and first in the men’s quad race at Space Coast Crew’s first coast regatta in Jacksonville on Saturday.

“[The regatta] is hectic in a good way,” sophomore Emily Eastwood said. “You run around for the first hour then you go lie around till your race, then have a long pep talk before your race, then repeat.”

Sophomore Meghan Litchfield pronounced weekend’s race was a success.

“It was great,” Litchfield said. “There was a lot of team bonding because it was so early in the year. The races went well, and the way we rowed was a good start for the rest of the season.”

Eastwood agreed.

“This weekend’s regatta was amazing. Our V8’s have done better than ever,” she said. “My team did awesome, and we showed that we can beat oars.”

Still, Eastwood said the venue has some room for improvement.

“The venue was very small,” Eastwood said  “And it was a very far walk to the launch sight, also the dock was sketchy.”

Litchfield already has goals for the next regatta in mind.

“I want to go faster and stay more focused,” she said.

By Moriah Padgett