By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

CHATTANOOGA, TN – The Lake Purdy Rowing Association Men’s Masters team came in ninth place at the Head of the Chattahoochie 2016 Regatta in Chattanooga Tennessee.

This prestigious race is a two-day rowing regatta held annually on the first full Saturday Sunday of November. It’s considered to be the second largest regatta in the nation behind only the Head of the Charles, which takes place in Boston.

They finished the race in 17:32.2, which was a little over a minute behind the winners who finished with a time of 16:30.3. Lake Purdy was only four seconds away from a top four finish and 20 seconds away from a top three finish.

The ninth place finishers from Alabama consisted of Anna Baik of Hoover (coxswain), Craig Richardson of Inverness (stroke), Samuel Haskell of Mountain Brook (3 seat), Lachlan Smith of Birmingham (2 seat) and Daniel Morrison of Birmingham (Bow).

The team is coached by Ted Swinford who has won a gold and bronze medal in the World Championship, been a U.S. Olympian, won seven gold medals in the U.S. National Championship and been inducted into the U.S. National Rowing Hall of Fame.

While representing the Birmingham metro area as well as Shelby County, they beat out some of the best boating clubs in the country.