Rowing prowess comes to a head with record triumph

Congratulations to Member Tara Swingler:

PerthNow Western Suburbs - 25 June 2026 - Pages 1 and 4

Head and shoulders above the rest

The PLC 1st VIII winning team. Picture: Stuart Quinn. Tara is fourth from the right.

Presbyterian Ladies’ College’s domination of rowing is complete after an 11th successive Head of the River triumph at Champion Lakes on Saturday.

The First Eight crew’s victory was PLC’s 13th overall, equalling the Independent Girls Schools Sports Association record shared by Methodist Ladies’ College.

Rowing prowess comes to a head with record triumph

The PLC 1st VIII winning team. Picture: Stuart Quinn. Tara is fourth from the right.

Presbyterian Ladies’ College’s domination of rowing is complete after an 11th successive Head of the River triumph at Champion Lakes on Saturday.

The First Eight crew’s victory was PLC’s 13th overall, equalling the Independent Girls Schools Sports Association record shared by Methodist Ladies’ College.

It capped a 14th overall win as the Head of the River champion school. PLC was also crowned season premiers for the 14th year in a row.

Coached by ex-Great Britain Olympic coach John Gearing, the crew of Milly Ahern, Ruby Davis, Ottillia Miller, Maggie Wandel, Tara Swingler, Pepper Roberts, Freya Wakefield and Celia Rosser, plus coxswain Laura Gillam, executed their race plan perfectly in stunning weather with a light cross-head wind.

PLC won in 7min 34.6sec, with MLC 9.33sec behind. Perth College was third, 14.91sec back, with St Hilda’s fourth, another 28.6sec astern.

Rosser, the PLC captain of boats who was in the sixth seat, celebrated her second first eight HOR win, as did Swingler.

Remarkably, 17 PLC crews remained undefeated this season, including the first, second and third eights. Overall PLC won 18 of the 31 events.

PLC showed early signs of strength in the Old Scholars warm-up race, a traditional curtain-raiser at the Head of the River regatta.

That race featured the Penrhos 1998 HOR winning crew, along with Australian representatives and club rowers.

“The result today was a culmination of all the hard work over many early, cold and dark mornings,” PLC head of sport Sam Maxwell said.