After an undefeated regular season, and a first-time win at the international Reading Amateur Regatta, Bowdoin’s varsity rowing team this weekend lost a close race with Yale.

The team, made up of Captain Katie Ross ’14, Emily Martin ’15, Courtney Payne ’15, Mary Bryan Barksdale ’15 and coxswain Sophie Berubé ’16, advanced to the quarter finals of the Henley Women’s Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England. “In the single elimination knockout format, or ‘side by side, Bowdoin found itself in the harder bracket and drew Yale for the quarter final,” head coach Gil Birney said in a statement. It was to be the fastest heat in the round.

“Bowdoin jumped out to the lead with a perfect start, but Yale drew even and the two crews raced level through the body of the race. As they approached the line, Yale was slightly ahead, but Bowdoin began its final push and started to surge on the Eli,” Birney described. “Sadly, a missed stroke caused a crab and stopped the boat dead in the water just as we were moving up, and Yale was able to pull away to win.”

While overseas, the team appreciated the outpouring of support from home. “Hearing from parents, alumni, and friends in the college and town has meant the world to the team,” Birney said. “We have raced, and won, and lost in the highest level available to us, on a river of historic racing and beauty.”