The Mathews High School crew hosted the first of its two 2023 home regattas on Saturday at Williams Wharf Landing. Out of 14 events, the small Mathews team of 20 rowers took seven firsts, four second places and two third-place finishes.

High school crews attending included Gloucester, Hickory, Norfolk Academy and Rock Ridge of Loudoun County. The three-and-a-half-hour regatta enjoyed ideal conditions early for the singles and small boats and some slight increase in a head wind towards the final events.

Mathews’ small crew roster has moved the team towards focusing more on sculling events with two oars per person. In sweep events, each rower uses a much longer oar with both hands. The attending crews were mostly sweep teams and none had double entries which required Mathews to race their regular doubles against four-person entries or race in sweep events which they had little or no practice in.

Highlights in the day for MHS included the women’s varsity double, Lillian Copeland...