Favourites progress in Brit Champs semi-finals

There will be plenty of GB Rowing Team interest in Saturday afternoon’s finals at the British Rowing Senior Championships in Nottingham.

There will be plenty of GB Rowing Team interest in Saturday afternoon’s finals at the British Rowing Senior Championships in Nottingham.

Wallingford RC’s Ellie Piggott and Brianna Stubbs, silver-medallists in the lightweight women’s quad at last month’s World Championships, looked in fine form as they won their women’s double semi-final.

Caragh McMurtry and U23 rower Holly Hill, in an Isle of Ely and Coalport composite, were runners-up.

The other semi-final saw the GB World U23 combination of Georgia Francis and Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne, representing Sport Imperial and Reading University, build on their time-trial success by taking first place.

The men’s double semi-finals were won by Leander Club A’s Alan Sinclair and Nick Middleton, and the Leander Club C U23 pairing of Harry Glenister and Tom Barras.

The big guns led the field in the men’s four, as expected, with the Leander Club B crew of Will Satch, Alex Gregory, Matt Gotrel and Tom Ransley holding off Molesey BC’s Tom Marshall, Moe Sbihi, George Nash and Sam Whittaker to win the first semi-final.

Leander Club’s A crew of Stewart Innes, Pete Reed, Matt Langridge and Constantine Louloudis took the honours in the second race to set up a mouth-watering final.

There were clear-water victories in the two women’s four semi-finals, with Leander’s Louisa Reeve, Lucinda Gooderham, Rosamund Bradbury and Katherine Douglas comfortably winning the first semi-final.

Their main competition in the final looks set to come from the Marlow RC, Gloucester RC and Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School composite of Beth Rodford, Ellen Roberts, Molly Harding and Katherine Grainger.

The A and B finals get under way at 4.05pm. For more information about the British Rowing Senior Championships, go to http://www.britchamps.org/seniors