Four of this weekend’s pairs will line up against each other once again following the small boats regatta three weeks ago, in what is a record attendance for this year’s New South Wales State Championship. However, this familiar field will be joined by interstate guests and threatening talent from New South Wales. With additions to the line-up, and the Australian Rowing Championships only one month away, this weekend offers the penultimate race, and a chance for athletes to label themselves amongst a nationwide field.
Kand
Travelling south for this weekend’s regatta, Kand’s crew of Ella McKenzie and Laura Chancellor will find it difficult to place in this field. Mckenzie returned from the USA after five years rowing at Michigan State University, pairing up with former Australian Junior Representative Chancellor. The two competed together in last year’s Head of the Yarra, placing eighth, before moving into the pair to win gold in last month’s Queensland State Championship.
Melbourne University
Similar to their Queensland rivals, the Melbourne University crew features athletes with experience competing in the U.S. collegiate system. Aaliah Dawson, returning from the University of Miami, will team up with Rebecca Joyce, who in 2020 returned from the University of Michigan. Dawson featured in the Melbourne University crew that claimed gold at last year’s Head of the Yarra. With this weekend’s regatta being the pair’s first race of the season, they will certainly look for a podium result to establish themselves amongst an interstate field.
Sydney Rowing Club (A)
Sydney Rowing Club’s (SRC) first crew of Caitlin McManus-Barrett and Isabella Scammell will be looking for nothing but gold this weekend, after leaving a decisive margin on the rest of the line-up at Small Boats. The pair won gold in the interstate eight at last year’s ARC, with both also featuring in last weekend’s winning eight at Riverview Gold Cup. Scammell has competed in the U23 World Rowing Championships for the last three years, where she was joined in the four by McManus-Barrett in 2024. The pair once again steps up as the most credentialed crew on the course, and it is hard to see them placing anywhere but first this weekend.
Sydney Rowing Club (B)
Remy McKay and Laura Sypher form SRC’s second pair. Both McKay and Sypher travelled to Poznan for the U23 World Rowing Championship, where the pair competed in the coxless four. After returning home, the two won the U23 pair at the 2025 ARC and also featured in Sydney Rowing Club’s winning U23 eight. Despite being the only New South Wales crew absent from the Small Boats Regatta last month, the pair certainly do not lack the credentials needed to podium this weekend.
Sydney University Boat Club
Sydney University Boat Club’s (SUBC) pair of Tiffany Botha and Olivia Nattey placed third at Small Boats, narrowly edging out the pair from UTS Haberfield. Both featured in the U23 team last year, with Botha racing the eight, and Nattey in the coxed four. The two raced the U23 coxless four at last year’s ARC, taking bronze, while narrowly missing the podium in the U23 pair. With this weekend being the final hit out before the ARC in March, this pair will certainly be looking to improve upon their result from last month.
Sydney University/Mercantile
The SUBC/Mercantile composite features Ruby Giouslekas and Stefanie Preller. Giouslekas returns from the USA this season, after having captained the rowing team at Syracuse University. She returns to the pair with Preller, who raced with Botha and Nattey and won gold in the ARC25 U23 four. After placing second at the Small Boats regatta behind Scammell and McManus-Barrett, these two will aim to hold onto their spot and narrow the margin ahead of the ARC.
UTS Haberfield
Finally, UTS Haberfield’s pair will see April Draney team up with Thames Rowing Club athlete Imogen Wolstencroft. The pair finished in third place eight at Head of the Yarra last year, with Draney returning from Germany, where she raced the four at the 2025 World University Games. Last month, the pair were beaten by Nattey and Botha by half a second. This weekend offers a chance to override that result and place themselves further in the mix amongst an increasingly competitive field.
Prediction
As previously mentioned, it’s hard to overlook the clear results of McManus-Barrett and Scammell; I expect them to take first place. With what I expect will be a tighter margin, SRC’s ‘B’ crew will come in at a close second. After that, I expect to see Sydney University/Mercantile, but with serious potential for an upset from any other one of this year’s crews.
