The Chicago Rowing Union had a record number of entries (11) at the annual Chicago Sprints, held July 7-9 at the Lincoln Park Lagoon, including the first women's boat under the CRU name.
"We have been trying very hard to build our women's team this year to enter more races," said Craig Wu, CRU's director of marketing.
CRU had more than 30 members participate in the two-day event.
"I am so proud of how we raced," Wu said. "The Men's Masters 4+A and 8+A had very good times, but could not overcome the large handicaps (12 seconds and 3 seconds, respectively).
"The women's boat finished really strong despite having lost an integral part of the boat before the race even started."
Wu, 30, a data assistant at the University of Chicago, has been a CRU rower for six years.
"It was a great two days of racing in the hot temperatures. Everyone put [out] 100 percent. We are looking towards next year's Chicago Sprints," said Ernie Kimlin, a coxswain for CRU.
"This is largest and best showing at this event for CRU, and shows great promise for CRU men's and women's crews in the future," added Matthew Honaberger, CRU vice president and coxswain.
Lucie-Ann Chen added, "I think it's great that we have a dedicated group of women [who] have been practicing together for a while now, preparing for races. Our results from the Sprints show that we are competitive and that we can really compete against some of the other local clubs."
CRU president Bill Moudry said he is very excited about the team's current state.
"[The Chicago Sprints results] demonstrate our growth this year across all programs, and sets a good tone for the rest of the season," Moudry said.
CRU's next regatta is Aug. 14the U.S. National's Master's Championships in Worcester, Mass.
Here's a look at CRU results in the annual Chicago Sprints:
July 7:
Men's Open 4+A: 7th
Men's open 4+B: 9th
Women's 4+ (First CRU women's boat at the Chicago Sprints.): 8th
Men's Masters 4+A: 3rdmissed finals by one second
Men's Masters 4+B: 4th
Men's Novice 4+A: 14th
July 8:
Men's Masters 4+A: 4th place. Made the semi-finals but finished in third due to a large time handicap of the other three boats.
Men's Masters 4+B: 6th
Women's Masters 4+A: 6th
Men's Open 8+: 4th
Novice 8+: 4th
Mixed 8+: 4th