Varsity 8 surges past Bucknell and Williams

Coach Gavin White said the team performed well last Saturday.

Kara Milstein | TTN FILE PHOTO
Kara Milstein | TTN FILE PHOTO

The Owls were neck-and-neck with Bucknell, as the race approached the 800 meter mark.

Then, the Varsity 8 “A” boat surged past the Bickers for good, as the team went on to beat Bucknell in a time of 5:54.

“We knew we had to get out on Bucknell because they are a quick crew off the start,” Evan Hammond said. “We had a pretty strong start, we got through the first half of the race and sat on them. They took their move at the 1,000 and we just didn’t move on them. We took a move at 800 meters and took three-quarters of a length about three seconds and just pushed them away. We knew we had them all the way at the end.”

The men’s crew team went head-to-head against Bucknell and Williams College throughout the day on Saturday with mostly positive results.

“The guys did a good job today,” coach Gavin White said.

The Varsity 8 “B” boat, led by coxswain Truman Levine, was missing three of its original rowers but still secured a five second win against the Bickers. Bucknell later proved to be too strong as the Owl’s Varsity 8 “C” boat placed second in a time of 6:53.

In the afternoon, the Owls faced Williams College.

The Varsity 8 “A” boat won its second race of the day in a time of 5:50 seconds after the Owls pulled away from Williams at the 800 meter mark, near Strawberry Mansion Bridge.

“We were just stronger, started swinging and started hitting together and we took about half a length there,” Hammond said. “Dante Romero, our coxswain, he knew we had them. He did a really good job calling the move for us. We really just pushed away and took them all the way to the end. “

The absence of two rowers, Hunter Divine and Nick Dula, proved to be the difference in the Varsity 8 “B” boat as it lost by two tenths of a second to Williams. Divine is expected to return to the team on Wednesday after suffering from Bronchitis. Dula is currently being treated for a hip injury.

The Varsity 8 “C” boat finished second as it faced two Williams’ Novice 8 boats.

The Owls will return to competition on April 18, when they race at the 2014 S.I.R.A Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Danielle Nelson can be reached at danielle.nelson@temple.edu or on Twitter@Dan_Nels.

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