The Shiplake 1st VIII gave an exceptionally strong performance in the Henley Royal Regatta, reaching the Friday of racing after beating London Oratory School, and America's Choate Rosemary Hall on Thursday and Wednesday respectively. Pitted against favourites Westminter, the Shiplake crew had a tough race on the Friday, and put in an unrelenting performance. However, it wasn't quite enough and they narrowly lost. The 1st VIII, made up of Seb Newman, Will Carey, Oliver Gerrard, Tim Waller, Tom Scott, Christian Hjortland-Marks, Will Dolin, Henry Blois Brooke and cox Jamie Pond, reached the Friday, making it the first time in 15 years for the College.
Headmaster Gregg Davies commented 'I'm incredibly proud of them, they rowed very well and that's all you can ask...We've had a really good season and it's a great team, they work for each other. The support was fantastic as well.' Rower Christian Hjortland-Marks also added 'we all knew the likely outcome but we were hoping that we could turn them over. We gave Westminster a good race and didn't give up. We are really pleased. This is the best the school has done in years and I'm proud of everyone in the boat.' It was a brilliant week and the crews gave Shiplake supporters a lot to shout about! See the full story below, as it unfolded, through the tweets of the week...
