Malvern quad boat beaten at Henley Regatta

Malvern Prep's quad A boat lost its bid to win the Fawley Challenge Cup at the Royal Henley Regatta in England when it was beaten Saturday in the quarterfinals by Sir William Borlase's Grammar School of England.

The Friars foursome of seniors Pat Donahue, Austin Bury, Alec Somers, and Dan Schwarz lost by a boat length to Borlase, which had tied a course record for the event the day before with a time of 6 minutes, 40 seconds. On Saturday, Borlase covered the 1-mile, 550-yard course in 6:49, 21/2 seconds ahead of Malvern.

The Friars never trailed by more than a length and drew even with Borlase with 300 meters to go, but weren't able to take the lead.

"They rowed a terrific race," Malvern coach Craig Hoffman said of his quartet. "Unfortunately, they spent so much effort trying to catch up they couldn't maintain it."

The Friars plan to watch Sunday's finals before heading home Monday. Malvern was the last surviving U.S. boat in the Fawley Cup competition, which is for rowers younger than 19.

St. Andrew's School of Middletown, Del., stunned the crowd along the River Thames with a come-from-behind victory over two-time defending champion Eton College.

The Saints' varsity eight gained a half-length victory in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 6 minutes, 29 seconds and will meet Abingdon School on Sunday for the championship.

The world-champion U.S. national women's eight, racing as the Princeton Training Center of New Jersey, defeated a development crew from Great Britain in the semifinals of the Remenham Cup.

- Don Beideman