Victoria’s State Championships offer the final major state event ahead of the 2026 Australian Rowing Championships (ARC) next month and the last chance to make an impression ahead of national selection. Several of this weekend’s athletes return from the New South Wales State Championship, but it was Melbourne University’s Romy Cantwell who dominated. With her set to compete in the single again, it’ll be interesting to see who will contest her for a spot on the podium.
Corio Bay
Corio Bay’s Maggie Foley will return to the Victorian State Championships, hoping to one-up her third-place result from this event last year. Last year, Foley took bronze at the ARC in the open lightweight single, and in 2024, silver. In that same year, competing in the Victorian lightweight quad, taking bronze. With recent results suggesting a strong performance this weekend, Foley will certainly aim to be in contention for a podium result.
Mercantile Rowing Club
The start line this weekend will be dominated by the white and red of Mercantile Rowing Club, with five entries in the open single.
2005 World champion and 2012 Olympian Robyn Selby Smith will line up against her club mates this weekend as perhaps the most decorated and experienced athlete on the course. Teammates Meg Cartwright and Georgia Campbell will certainly be looking to challenge former Mercs club captain Selby Smith. Last weekend, Campbell missed the podium in the Under 23 single by 0.3 and will aim to improve on this result this weekend.
Furthering the strong presence of Mercantile in the singles is Anna Morrison. After taking silver in the Victorian interstate eight at last year’s ARC, Morrison travelled to Poznan to compete in Australia’s Under 23 eight, which came second in the B final. Morrison dominated the 2025 state championship, taking a hat-trick of golds, winning the open pair, four, and eight.
Finally, Freya Axten completes the Mercantile line-up. Last year, Axten was in the two seats of the Mercantile eight that made it to the quarterfinals of the Wargrave Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. At the 2025 ARC, Axten took silver in the open and club doubles, and at the previous Victorian State Championships, took gold in the club single and eight. This weekend, she will aim to continue a run of strong performances.
Melbourne University Boat Club
Melbourne University saw a successful weekend at the New South Wales State Championships. Now returning to home soil, they will certainly be aiming to continue this success in the lead up to the ARC next month.
All three of Melbourne University’s scullers competed in the bronze medalling championship eight at the NSW Championships, after all lining up against each other in the elite single. Bridgette Harwood narrowly missed the A final, while her ARC doubles partner Sara de Uray came fifth, falling shy of the podium by a boat length. De Uray, who in 2023 took bronze at the Under-23 world championships in the coxless four, will perhaps be Romy Cantwell’s biggest competitor this weekend.
Cantwell returns from the New South Wales state championships triumphant after a commanding win in the elite single. Cantwell took home bronze in the interstate single at last year’s ARC, the year prior, winning the Under 23 single. To cap off an already honourable U23 career, Cantwell travelled to Poznan, Poland, where she took Bronze in the Single at the U23 World Rowing Championships.
Prediction
After such a strong performance last weekend, it is hard to overlook Romy Cantwell from delivering another victory in the single. I predict Sara de Uray to secure the silver medal for MUBC, with Anna Morrisson of Mercantile defending an all-blue podium.
