Skibbereen find winning formula on second day of Rowing Championships

Skibbereen teamed up with Lee Valley to form a winning combination in the men's senior quad when, taking a slight lead off the blocks, they stretched out to a clear water lead leaving the other three crews to battle for position. Queens made it into second place whilst the Garda/UL composite (that also featured in the Senior Four) crossed the line in fourth.

This was a winning day for Skibbereen. Earlier in the women's senior quad they pipped the Old Collegians/Three Castles crew in a nail-biting race. It was the composite crew who led until the closing stages when, just as it seemed certain they would take the win, their boat clashed with a marker buoy breaking their rhythm momentarily, allowing Skibbereen the opportunity to take the lead. Another composite crew, St. Michaels and University of Limerick, crossed the line in third place.

Meanwhile Christine Fitzerald and Denise Walsh continued Skibbereen's winning ways by winning the women's senior pair with Commercial taking second and St. Michael's third.

In the women's junior eight, St. Michael's of Limerick made up for their disappointment at last year's event with a fantastic win. They crossed the line a distance ahead of Cork Boat Clubs crew, pushing last year's victors into third place.

The men's intermediate single was a highly contested event with twenty-five entries. It was UCD's Anthony English who proved himself to be the fastest of competitors, winning by clear water over Skibbereen's Andrew Hurley. Micheal Bailey of Neptune was the third place finisher.

After a morning of controversy over the disqualification of UCD and NUIG from the Men's Intermediate Eight, five boats lined at the start of the 2,000 metre course to challenge for the title. It was Queens University who took the Championship win, over one second ahead of Trinity College and four seconds ahead of Neptune.

Fermoy's Hillary Shinnick was the winner of the highly contested Women's junior single scull where she held off challenges from Skibbereen's Shelly Dineen and Katie Cromie of Portora to cross the line with a convincing lead.

The premier event of the championships, the men's senior eight, takes place on Saturday afternoon and features the composite crew of NUIG/Grلinne Mhaol, Queen's University, UCD and Trinity College. NUIG/Grلinne Mhaol have already set down a marker for the other crews having won the Men's Senior Four on Thursday in a tight finish to deny Queen's. Other races include the women's senior eight and the men's senior scull.