The men finished first in four events, while the women placed second in four races.
The men’s crew team ended its fall season of rowing with a bang, recording four first-place finishes, while the women’s team had four second-place finishes. Both crew teams competed in two tournaments this weekend, Saturday in the Frostbite Regatta in Camden, N.J., on the Cooper River and Sunday in the Braxton Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
Men
The men opened competition on Saturday in Camden, N.J., with five races on the schedule. The Owls walked away with first-place finishes in three of them.
The first victory came from the frosh/novice crew of freshman Rob Nave at the coxswain position and freshmen Mike Mirabella, Kevin Nally, Majiec Grudgen and Richard Ehmer at the stroke positions. The Owls defeated Lafayette and Ithaca by 58 seconds.
The Owls also picked up a victory in the varsity four-plus section when the crew of sophomore Sam Scimeca (coxswain) and the stroke team of sophomores Steve Brady, Joe Bellesheim, Brian Rehill and senior Brad Long beat La Salle, Lafayette and Loyola by six seconds.
The third and final victory of the day came from the big squad, the varsity eight. The team led early on and never relinquished it. The crew consisted of sophomore Don Norris (coxswain) and the stroke team of sophomores Jimmy Barr and Nenad Ninkovic, juniors John Masterson, Scott Waters and Jeff Wunderlich; and seniors Brendan Cunningham, Pat Curran and Tom Masterson.
They made quick work of Delaware, Ithaca, Marietta and Philadelphia University and finished with a time of 6:57.
Sunday, the Owls bettered a Drexel team that finished with a time of 6:24 in its previous event and took home another first-place finish in the Braxton Regatta.
“We would have liked to win every match, but we played really well,” coach Gavin White said. “This is one of the best falls we have ever had [the Owls completed fall competition]. We have an awful lot to look forward to in the spring.”
Women
The women fared well in Camden as well. The varsity and junior varsity eights both recorded second-place finishes Saturday.
“We were pretty good today,” coach Tim Hagan said.
The varsity eight squad consisted of junior Erin Buchanan (coxswain) and the stroke team of freshmen Jeanine Lees and Paige O’Sullivan; sophomores Kara Jackson and Taylor Wasserleben; and seniors Bailey Chick, Brynn Moore, Nicole Wagner and Mary Webster. The Owls finished just nine seconds behind first-place Drexel but a large margin ahead of third-place Philadelphia University.
The junior varsity eight squad also finished in second place. The squad was comprised of sophomore Isabella Bourbon (coxswain) and the stroke team of freshmen Angela Flinn and Joanna Sutor; sophomores Allison Boc, Megan Hanlin and Molly Schreiner; juniors Megan Silk and Caitlin Pennington; and senior Kendra Dickinson. Those Owls came in a very close five seconds behind first-place George Mason but in front of the Drexel B squad and Saint Mary’s.
“We just had a difficult time finishing off those races,” Hagan said.
The women repeated those second-place finishes in two races Sunday.
“We had a solid end to our fall schedule,” Hagan said. “We are gaining on Drexel, and that is always a good thing.”
Hagan said his main goal in the upcoming spring schedule is to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish in the Atlantic Ten Conference.
“We had a productive fall,” he said. “We are physically in better shape than we have been in the past. We are pleased with the fall but really looking forward to the spring.”
Ryan Rosengrant can be reached at ryan.rosengrant@temple.edu.
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