Veronica Wall was back in one of her favourite stomping grounds and doing what she does best yesterday. Photo Tetsuro MitomoIt’s game on for Ashburton College on Lake Ruataniwha after a productive first day on the water in the 2018 Maadi Cup.

If the weight of expectation was holding down the shoulder of the AshColl contingent after a red-letter year at the annual event in 2017 it never showed yesterday, as rowers picked up four heat wins across the day’s racing.

Rowing’s golden girl Veronica Wall played a part in two of those victories as she continues an incredible record in single sculls events at the Maadi Cup.

She breezed through her heat of the under-18 girls’ single sculls to record the fastest time in the round of heats – cementing her favouritism for another gold medal in one of the premier events of the competition by the end of the week.

Earlier in the day she teamed up with Mollie Gibson to again finish the fastest qualifying time in the heats of the under-18 girls’ double sculls.

Gibson wasn’t quite able to repeat the pattern when she took to the water for the under-17 girls’ single sculls.

She finished third, with her time the 13th fastest across the field of rowers.

Gibson did grab another success too though.

She, Emma Stagg, Lara Biggs, Aidan Elvines and Harriet Leverton won their heat of the under-17 girls’ coxed quad sculls.

AshColl’s fourth victory came late in the day when Haxby Hefford powered his way to victory in his heat of the boys’ under-18 single sculls to earn a ticket straight to the quarter-finals.

Harrison Davies also produced a strong result in the same round of the heats, finishing second with a time that would see him ranked inside the top six of the age group.

Rowers will be back on the water this morning with some strong prospects in action.

The girls’ under-18 coxed quad sculls team of Wall, Gibson, Stagg, Biggs and Leverton will have all eyes on them while Hefford and Davies are combining to make a strong under-18 double sculls combination.

Racing continues throughout the week before finals kick in late in proceedings.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 19 March 2018