Queens of the Water, Musaeus or Ladies?

The Ladies-Musaeus regatta, commonly known as the LC-MC regatta, is set to get underway on the 6th of October 2018, at the Colombo Rowing Club for its 15th edition.

This friendly annual regatta started back in 2004, with the aim of developing a good friendship between both schools and creating a greater opportunity for both teams to showcase their talents and skills.

The past 14 regattas have favoured Ladies’ College as they’ve been on the winning side 9 times whilst Musaeus have won it four times and both teams shared the glory on one occasion. Although Ladies have more wins, it’s the Musaeusites who have conquered in the recent past, breaking a five year hoo-doo in 2016 and defending their title in 2017.

Taking a look at both teams;

• Ladies’ College

The LC-ites are definitely coming in as the underdogs with their young but undoubtedly talented crew. Leading the team this year are the two most seniors crew members, Ashvini Subasinghe and Sanjula Boteju. Both Captains are 5th year colours-women who have rowed since the junior levels. However, 18 year old Sanjula will only lead from ashore with this being her last regatta representing Ladies’ – therefore 17 year old Ashvini will have to be there upfront as captain if they are to reclaim the lost title.

“The best part of the team this year is that we’ve all bonded like never before, the team is like a family”  stated Ashvini when asked what difference she sees in the 2018 Ladies’ College Rowing team.

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Adding onto that co-captain Sanjula said “It’s an honour to be leading such a talented bunch of rowers and I’m sure we could win the cup back”.

Ladies’ College emerged joint Champions with Musaeus College in the U18 Schools National Regatta which will act as a booster for the LC-ites especially since the girls from that champion side are also a part of the U20 team.

Sharen Kannangara will be heading the coaching department this year as well alongside Saliya Gunasekara his assistant. Sharing his thoughts with ThePapare.com, Sharen stated “The girls have sacrificed a lot and are well prepared for the challenge ahead. But, the biggest strength is that the team is young”.

The Ladies College Crew;

Photos: Ladies College Rowing Team Preview 2018

• Musaeus College

The defending Champions in the Nationals Schools Regatta and also the title holder in the annual LCMC regatta – Musaeus College are the favourites coming into this weekend’s main event.

Last year, led by Senuri De Silva, Musaeus renewed many records dominating the waters at the Beira Lake. This time, representing Musaeus for the 6th year, Mayanthi Weerakoon will hope to lead her crew to top last year’s timings and make it a hat-trick year for them.

Compared to their opposition, Mayanthi’s team comprises of mostly seniors – which uplifts the girls confidence ahead of the regatta.

“We have 5 seniors and 3 freshers in the crew so that’s our main strength” said Mayanthi when asked about the composition of the team. She is well backed up by both Maedhini and Binali De Alwis who have been a part of LCMC in the last 5 years.

Anuradha Nadaraja will overlook the girls as head coach and hope to set the bar high.

The Musaeus College Crew

Photos : Musaeus College Rowing Team Preview 2018

The Regatta is scheduled to start at 1.30pm at the Colombo Rowing Club.

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