The 13th Ladies-Musaeus regatta has been scheduled to start off on Saturday, 1st October at the Colombo Rowing Club. Months of training will all come down to the LC-MC regatta and both crews will be expecting to perform to the best of their abilities in order to secure a win for their respective schools.
Musaeus haven’t tasted victory in some time, having lost the regatta for five consecutive years. Ladies’ College have had the upper hand when it comes to 2013 and 2014 where they won 52-00 and 48-4 respectively. In 2015 however, LC faced a tough battle from Musaeus and the regatta went in favour of the girls in red by just 2 points. The final ‘A’ fours race turning out to be the decider.
In terms of the seasons results, Musaeus College have had more success than previous years, winning the Head of the Beire, Cyrain Cup and the under 18 category at the 31st National Rowing Championships. Five girls of the crew also participated at the Madras-Colombo regatta, emerging victorious and the crew that participated at the Asian School’s Regatta in Singapore bagged 7 medals.
This year’s Musaeus College outfit will be led by Ranuli Wickramasekara, the most experienced campaigner of the crew. Ranuli has been a part of Musaeus College Crew for 6 long years and will with no doubt be hungry for a MC victory. She will be assisted by the likes of Ashvini Jayathilake, yet another pillar for Musaeus having rowed for 5 years. Third-in-line, sculler Senuri de Silva, represented the Sri Lankan youth at the World Junior Rowing Championship held this year in Rotterdam, Netherlands. These three individuals will play a major role in this year’s regatta and will be the backbone of the MC crew.
Musaeus will also be bound by Megara Wijemanne and Isuri Kumarasinghe, yet again having rowed for 5-6 years respectively. The senior cox, Mayanthi Weerakoon, the de Alwis siblings Maedhini and Binali will play a major role in this year’s success. The names of Niseni Hewamallika, Randini de Silva and Thanushi Perera have been consistent throughout the years as well. Ishanka Hewakuruppu, Lishadi Mayadunne, Thimansi Hewage, Dinuri Guneratne and Nethmini Sirimanne will be the fresh blood in the crew and will be looking at taking a shot at this year’s regatta.
Since taking over the responsibility of the Musaeus Crew in 2014, Coach Mark Maurice has played a vital role in the Crew’s success. Under his guidance, Musaeus was able to reduce the gap to just 2 points, and with no doubt will be aiming to grab the ‘Marie Musaeus Higgins Trophy’ (overall LC-MC trophy).
Speaking to ThePapare.com, skipper Ranuli Wickremesekara said that its coach Mark’s father-like figure that has kept the crew bonded together, whilst scheduling intense yet productive training sessions which have moulded the crew into what it is today.
Skipper Ranuli also mentioned that her crew is much focused and will be aiming at nothing less than a victory at the 13th Ladies-Musaeus Rowing Regatta.
