The men’s crew team began it’s abbreviated fall competition season with four first-place finishes on Saturday at the Frostbite Regatta and finished it on Sunday with four more first-place finishes at the Braxton Regatta. Both regatta were on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.
“[Primiarly,] the Fall was about racing, but it was also about everyone getting longer- trying to get the most length they could,” junior Fergal Barry said. “That’s kind of the beginning of the season: Everyone get longer and stronger.”
Barry was stroke seat in the final race on Sunday, a first-place finish in the Men’s Collegiate Freshman Novice 4+ Final, posting a time of five minutes, 25.52 seconds. All events that seven schools took place in on Sunday were over a 1500 meter course, a race less common at the collegiate level.
The Owls had a strong showing at the Frostbite Regatta in which weather conditions were perfect with overcast skies, no wind, and temperatures far from causing frostbite. The day was highlighted by the Owls’ final event in which their varsity eight boat finished second, posting a time of 6:17:99.
“I don’t want to get too involved with analyzing the results, but that’s the most I’ve enjoyed second place in a while,” coach Dr. Gavin White said. “Before the race, I didn’t know what to expect. I thought we were on the right track, but I wasn’t really sure. They fell back to third at one point, and fourth in one spot, and they came back and finished second.”
“That showed me a lot of heart,” White added. “I told them I could work with that kind of heart.”
Overall, the Owls’ raced nine boats against 11 schools on Saturday. Of those nine, four finished in first place, and one finished second to another Temple boat.
This happened in the College Men Four with Coxwain Final 5. Junior Zephyr Dippel, a former transfer from Philadelphia University, raced in the second place boat.
“If we’re going to lose to someone, it should be Temple,” Dippel said.
“We had a little bit of a struggle because our lineup got shifted like really last minute,” Dippel said. “Two guys were taken out, two new guys in, and hadn’t ridden with them all week.”
However, the fall is a time for lineup changes as the Owls prepare for the more intense Spring competition season. Now, the team will begin winter training.
“[These results] are going to go a long way towards helping us in the winter,” White said. “They’ll get out of bed in morning, knowing they have a shot at being pretty good.”
Liam McKenna can be reached at liam.mckenna@temple.edu.
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