OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Mercyhurst College rowing programs continue to capture medals, this time as the women's eight took home a gold medal and the men's four earned a silver at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.
The women's eight crossed the line nearly seven seconds ahead of Division II rival Nova Southeastern, taking home the first-place finish in 6:50.7 while the men edged out Emory by less than a second in 6:41.2.
Race conditions on the course featured a very light crosswind with temperatures in the high 50s, much more conducive than Saturday's conditions that featured high winds and debris from a stormy conditions on Friday night.
The women's eight had a shaky start but made up significant distance on the field in the first 500 meters where they were behind both Nova Southeastern and Emory. At the first mark, the Lakers were one seat behind Nova before the Lakers bow ball crossed in front of Nova at the 750-meter mark and pulled away every stroke thereafter. At the finish, the boat of
Lindsey Crosby,
Amanda Carlyon, Jessica Olson,
Bethany Brun,
Rachel Beste,
Jordan Herbert,
Amanda Primett,
Rebecca Herron and
Arden Gill was ahead of Nova a half-boat length in open water.
“The women really stepped up to the challenge in facing No.-2 ranked Nova and made the most of racing out of region to see how we stack up,” said head coach Adrian Spracklen. “The crew really took some positive steps towards returning to another NCAA Championship.”
For the men, they came off the starting docks among the pack but Georgia Tech moved ahead off the line. At the 500-meter mark, the boat of Jeff Murt, Dave Cullmer, Chris Branchick, Scott Helfrich and Holly Ansaldi were sitting solidly in fourth behind Georgia Tech, Emory and Florida Tech. By the 1,000-meter mark the Mercyhurst boat had pulled back through Florida Tech and making the charge towards Emory. By the 1,500-meter mark, the boat was pulled closer to Emory and by the end of its sprint had safely collected the silver finish.
“The men's four made significant improvements this weekend and their result was very encouraging for the future,” Spracklen said.
Men's Four Results
· Georgia Tech 6:37.2
· Mercyhurst 6:41.2
· Emory 6:42.0
· U. of Tampa 6:48.3
· Temple 6:49.4
· Florida Tech 6:51.9
Women's Eight Results
· Mercyhurst 6:50.7
· Nova Southeastern 6:57.3
· Florida 6:59.6
· Emory 7:00.4
· Barry 7:08.2
· Marietta 7:13.0
Saturday's Results –
The men's varsity four lanes were re-drawn for the heats, putting the Mercyhurst men up against Duke, Ohio University, Florida Tech, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. Florida Tech and Mercyhurst pulled away from the field by the 1,000-meter mark and finished in that order to progress to the semifinal. Later in the afternoon, Mercyhurst lined up against Georgia Tech, St. Joe's, Miami (Ohio), and Vanderbilt. Georgia Tech pulled away early in the race with Mercyhurst following behind in second to progress to the final.
The women's eight, ranked sixth in the country, raced in the heat against Miami (Ohio), Central Oklahoma, Florida Tech and Penn State. The women had an open water lead by the 1,000-meter mark and cruised through the finish in first to progress to the semifinal. Second-ranked Nova Southeastern also won its heat. In the semifinal, the Laker women faced Florida, Emory, Michigan State, and Central Oklahoma. Again the women had a comfortable lead by the 1,000-meter mark and finished first with a time of 6:46.1, four seconds in front of Florida. Nova Southeastern won the next semifinal with a remarkably similar time of 6:46.1 with a four-second lead over Marietta.
The men's eight raced a very fast field in its heat against Temple, Delaware, Ohio State and Miami (Ohio). The men stayed in contact with Temple and Delaware all the way down the course sitting in second place for most of the race. Delaware made a strong move in the last 200 meters and pulled into second place. With a third place finish the men moved on to the semifinal against Florida Tech, George Washington, St. Joe's, and North Carolina. Florida Tech pulled away from the field early in the race while the Lakers hung onto the rest of the boats all the way down the course, finishing just 0.7 seconds behind UNC, just narrowly missing the petite final.
