Lee Valley's Keohane continues winning streak in single sculls

A week of fierce rivalry between UCD and NUIG/Grainne Mhaol has resulted in two wins for the composite Galway crew. UCD went head to head with the composite at Henley earlier in the week, with the Galway crew coming out on top by a small margin. They again crossed paths on Saturday at the Cork Regatta in the main event of the day, the Leander Trophy, for the Division 1 Eight (8+). At the finish a mere 0.2 of a second separated NUIG/Grainne Mhaol from second placed UCD. Both crews were missing their Henley comrades but will be strengthened by their return for the championships.

The Men's Division 1 single scull (1x) final saw the seven fastest scullers of the day compete with Lee Valley's John Keohane who continued his winning streak beating Skibbereen's 17 year old Paul O'Donovan into a close second. Muckross' Olympian Seلn Casey made his return to the single scull with a third place finish. The high standard of entry at Cork bodes well for an exciting Championship race in two weeks time.
In the Women's category, Skibbereen's lightweight sculler Denise Walsh pushed Killorglin's Monika Dukarska into second place with a five second gap crossing the line. Walsh's clubmate Hayes finished a close third in this race.

In the Women's Division 1 eight (8+), UCD took a win over the newly formed Muckross crew. This is the first time in 2011 that these two crews have faced each other and with a tight margin of three seconds, this Championship title remains open for the taking. St. Michael's Intermediate took third place.

Conditions remained ideal throughout the day for a busy schedule of racing. The Cork regatta was the final opportunity for crews to measure up against their opponents before they meet again at the same venue for the Irish Rowing Championships on July 14-16. The crews for the Home Internationals in Strathclyde will be announced this week. Based on results from Saturday's racing, the 2011 Home International team will be announced later this week. The team will travel to Strathclyde to race on July 23.