IT took one of the fastest crews in the field to eliminate a Northwich Rowing Club junior girls’ quad from Henley Women’s Regatta last weekend.

Ellie Cushen, Charlotte Almond, Imogen Wolstencroft and Rachel Cooney qualified for the last 16 following a time-trial along the prestigious course on Saturday morning.

They were paired with Latymer Upper School’s B crew when side-by-side racing began in the afternoon, and they were beaten by just over a boat length.

Their rivals, eliminated later by eventual winners Henley Rowing Club, were quickest of all the entries in the first round.

“I’m not sure anybody expected them to be as strong as they were,” said Jed Barlow, who coaches the Northwich crew, afterwards.

“They were strong, and took us all by surprise.

“Our girls loved it though, and it was a new experience for all but one of them to race there.

“It can be daunting, but they thought it was great and they know now what to expect when they go back in the future.”

Meanwhile a second Northwich boat, with Lydia Heath and Ellie Heathcock on board in a junior double, narrowly missed out on a place in the main draw following a time-trial.

Two former Northwich members, Beth Willford-Dutton and Lucy Gillbanks, were also in action for their university.

They reached the final in a junior double two years ago while wearing the club’s green and gold colours.

Gillbanks, now with University of Nottingham Boat Club, was a runner-up again – this time with Nina Giambrone in a lightweight double that lost to a dominant rival from Exeter.

Willford-Dutton, a student at Oxford Brookes University since leaving Sir John Deane’s College last summer, progressed through three rounds in an aspirational single before a slender loss in the semi-finals against Siena Hayes (Cardiff University).