This year, Cantabs will be entering 11 men’s eights from across all of the different men’s squads and junior squads, as well as returning former juniors who are now rowing at their universities. In 2021, the Cantabs men enjoyed some good performances, including M1 bumping Nines M1 to take the headship back. This year, the results from last year are ignored and we ‘reset’ at the finish order from 2019 after 2020 was cancelled and it was agreed that 2021 results wouldn’t carry over due to the pandemic.
The 2021/22 season has been a successful one for all of the Cantabs men’s squads, seeing great performances at races both locally and nationally. This has included everything from the Senior Men enjoying a good performance at HORR and qualifying two crews for HRR, the Aquaphobes enjoying wins in masters events, and the junior and Hills Road squads racing well at SHORR, Nat Schools and Brit Champs.
You can read more about each squad by clicking the link on each crew list. If you want to find out more about joining Cantabs, please contact the men’s captains.
*denotes that someone learned to row at Cantabs
The 2022 Cantabs men’s crews
M1 – Senior Men’s Squad – Starting 2nd in Division 1:
Laura Brightman (cox), Harry Connor, Finn Grimwood, Ricardo Herreros-Symons, Zach Oglesby, Magnus Burgess-Smith, James O’Dell*, James Lindsay, Dan Thompson
M2 – Hills Road returners – Starting 4th in Division 1:
Emily Staplehurst* (cox), Ethan Collier*, JP Levick*, Tom Sharrock*, George Lawn*, Felix Werdmuller*, Robert Almqvist*, Onur Howie*, Luke Davies*
This year’s M2 contains former juniors who are either currently studying at university or are recent graduates. Stroke Ethan Collier is men’s captain at Leeds University and JP Leverick has captained the novice squad at Edinburgh University. Onur Howie also rows for Edinburgh University, and Robert Almqvist rows for Durham University. Felix Werdmuller rows for Kings College London and Tom Sharrock for Oxford University, having been part of the GB Start programme as a junior. Both JP and current Cantabs Senior Men’s athlete and Hills Road coach George Lawn pre-qualified in the Wyfold 4- at Henley Royal Regatta this year for their respective clubs.
M3 – Hills Road 1 – Starting 10th in Division 1:
Martha Rodgers* (cox), Fergus Carrington, William Woodard*, Patrick Child, Zach Grant, Callum Hynd, Adam Spencer*, Finn Brown*, Alfie Sharrock*
Most of the boys in this year’s M3 are Year 13 students, with most racing for Cantabs for the last time before going to university. Hills captain William Woodard has had a particularly successful season, making the final of the Championship 1x at Nat Schools. Martha will also be rowing this year in W11.
M4 – Aquaphobes – Starting 14th in Division 2:
Emma Smith (cox), Matt Garley, Neil Sparnon, Richard Baird, Dave Atkin*, Nick Sutcliffe, Aaron Johnston*, Dave Rayment, Lucio Cicolecchia
The Aquaphobes have their roots in a water polo team which decided to have a crack at Town Bumps in 2010. The crew has a truly international line-up. Enzo Capone and Lucio both hail from Naples in Italy. Aaron Johnston is from Canada, and Paul Hoeggar from Switzerland, while Neil Sparnon and Dave Atkin are always keen to remind everyone of their Welsh roots.
Several of the crew have relatives racing in the other men’s and women’s boats including Dan Sharrock’s son Tom, who will be in M2. Nick Sutcliffe’s daughter Freya, who is a three-time member of the Cambridge lightweight women’s blue boat, has been involved in coaching the crew alongside regular coach Pete Brooks.
Normally racing as a Masters D (50-55), the crew have had wins at Winter League, the Winter and Spring Head-to-Head races, City Sprints, Radegund Mile, Champs Head, 99s Spring Regatta, Norwich Head and Head of the Dart. They competed at Henley for the first time in the Masters Regatta, and are currently targeting the World Masters Regatta in Libourne, France in September.
M5 – Senior Men 2 – Starting 15th in Division 1:
Maria Chukanova (cox), Rohan Hodgson, Will Norman, Harry Prudden, Peter Ford, Martin Benfeghoul, Ethan Povey, Denis Barbov, Petr Arnold
M5 are sharing their cox Maria Chukanova with two other crews, as she will also be steering W3 and W10 in her search for maximum bumps. She is a former blades-winner in Lent Bumps, with Cantabs boatman Petr Arnold a two-time blades winner in Town Bumps and Harry Prudden in May Bumps. It is the first bumps race for Denis Barbov, Rohan Hodgson, Ethan Povey and BUCS medallist Martin Benfeghoul. Peter Ford is a seasoned bumps rower and coach, now a ‘July-only’ rower having also rowed in this year’s Cantabs Wyfold 4- at Henley Royal Regatta.
M6 – Coaches – Starting 8th in Division 2:
Shaaroni Wong (cox), Tom King, Matthew Griffiths, Chris Radbone*, Forbes Anderson, Jay Milne, Milosz Wrobel, Phil Gunning, Tom Copeland
This year’s coaches crew contains both Cantabs coaches and those from other clubs. Tom Copeland and Chris Radbone (also a prolific Cambridge college crew coach) are part of the Cantabs Senior Women’s coaching team, with former York University coach Jay Milne a recent addition. Phil Gunning is a former Cantabs junior coach, with osteopath and S&C specialist Milosz Wrobel a regular support to all Cantabs squads. This will be Milosz’s 2nd Town Bumps and probably his 12th rowing outing! Matthew Griffiths rows for the crew for the first time this year, having this season enjoyed victories for his crews in the Cambridge lightweight women’s boat race, Aspirational Lightweight 1x and Championship Lightweight Pair (containing former Cantabs junior Freya Sutcliffe) at Henley Women’s Regatta. Matthew’s partner Imogen Grant is a member of the GB Rowing team and recently broke the world best time for the lightweight women’s 1x, and raced in the lightweight women’s 2x at the Tokyo Olympics.
M7 – Junior Squad 2 – Starting 10th in Division 2:
Emma Siragher (cox), Vlad Puntsunov*, Tom Woodard*, Matthew Campbell*, Matthew Stone*, Borisz Kantor*, Kabir Botra*, Amun Vartak*, Gabriel Holt*/Josh Roberts*
M7 is an excellent example of how rowing is often a family affair! Borisz Kantor is the son of M8’s Levente Kantor, who is also one of the junior coaches. Tom Woodard’s brother William is in M3, and their other brother George has recently completed the junior learn to row course. Their mum Katherine is a valuable member of the junior admin team. Mathew Stone’s brother William is an up-and-coming sculler. Both are following in their mother Heather’s footsteps, who rowed whilst a student at Cambridge. Heather is another asset to the coaching team, being regularly on the bank for junior outings. Continuing the family theme, we have brothers Amun and Kabir in the crew. And last but of course not least, cox Emma Siragher is the daughter of junior coach Nick Siragher, with Nick’s wife Debbie an experienced cox.
M8 – Poachers – Starting 13th in Division 2:
Sara Russo (cox), Andy Potter, Levente Kantor, Julian Pienaar*, Brian Pohl*, Peter Chappell*, Kelly Boden, Dave Meredith*/Nick Siragher, Tim Walker/Ray Gay
M8 was by Cantabs Junior Development Officer Nick Siragher in 2008. They have come 2nd in many of the on-Cam events, beaten only by Cantabs’ Aquaphobes. Nick’s daughter Emma is coxing M7, Kelly Bolen’s wife Darcy is racing in W14, Brian Pohl’s partner Aaron races in M4, and Levente Kantor’s sons row at Cantabs. Dave Meredith coaches M1, and has a popular ‘sculling school’. Cox Sara is a former Town Bumps headship holder with Cantabs M1, meaning the crew are in experienced hands as they seek some bumps this year.
M9 – Past Masters – Starting 2nd in Division 3:
Laura Brightman (cox), Dave Richardson, Andrew Morley*, Paul Meadows, Piotr Rzeczkowski, Tiziano Caldera/Gary O’Shea*, Simon Durrant, Chris Dale, Billy Hodge
M9 return for this years Bumps as a combination of Motley Crew and members of a regular masters sculling group. Four members of this years crew learned to row at Cantabs, two of which have daughters rowing in this years Bumps in W12. Achievements range from international gold medal winner Piotr Rzeczkowski to Henley Masters winner Dave Richardson. Three members of this crew have previously won blades with Past Masters in 2017 and 2018.
M10 – Hunters – Starting 5th in Division 3:
Carrie Frazer (cox), Paul Robinson, Mike Hunter, Mateus Patricio/Pablo Porras Millan*, James Ryley*/Paul Leivers*, Matthew Scott/Charlie Thompson*, Andrew Featherstone*, Paul Reis, Ruben Bautista*
This year’s M10 contains club president Mike Hunter, and he and the rest of his crew will be looking forward to this year’s bumps after last year saw them have some fun with Chesterton M3, trading bumps twice before finishing the week +2. There are some father-daughter pairs in the crew, with Mike Staplehurst’s daughter Emily coxing M2, and Paul Robinson’s daughter Rosie racing in W14.
M11 – Invetereight – Starting 6th in Division 3:
Emma White (cox), Ted Tracey, Jim Howarth, Mike Walker, Steve Tapping, David Winch, Howard Griffiths, Bob Brittain, Clive Keeler
M6 are the club’s only septuagenarian eight. Three of the crew learned at Cantabs and are still here more than half a century afterwards!
