ERIE, Penn. – As the Mercyhurst rowing program prepares for the 2018 championship season, Director of Rowing, Adrian Spracklen, is proud to announce captains for the lightweight men and varsity women's team.

Florentine Baron, Leah Griffin, and Greta Taine have been named captains of the varsity women for 2017-2018. Florentine "Flo" Baron is a senior Psychology major from  Oldenburg, Germany. Baron was a part of the varsity eight that came second at the 2015 NCAA National Championships and helped the team earn National Team Runner-Up. In 2016, Baron was named 2^nd Team All-American by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches' Association.

Leah Griffin is also a senior from Baden, PA and is majoring in sports medicine and pre-physician's assistant. Griffin was just recently accepted into the Physician Assistant Studies program at Chatham University. Griffin was also part of the varsity eight that came second at the 2015 NCAA Championships and earned Team Runner-Up.

Greta Taine has been named the third captain of the varsity women's team this year. Taine is a sophomore from Auckland, NZ and is majoring in environmental science. Taine stroked the varsity eight as a freshman and continues to lead the team on and off the water in her sophomore year.

The varsity women's captains have been leading the team through the fall non-championship season and winter training, and have plans to lead the team to another NCAA appearance with hopes of reaching the podium once more.

Jonas Weller and Galen Bernick have been named captains for the lightweight men's team. Weller, a native of Ratzeburg, Germany, is a senior majoring in business management. Weller is a two-time Dad Vail Champion (2015, 2016) and earned a silver medal for Germany in the Men's Lightweight Quad at the U23 World Championships in 2016.

Galen Bernick is a senior Philosophy major from Tempe, Arizona. Bernick was a member of the US Junior National Team in 2014 and has had continuing success at Mercyhurst. He was a two-time Dad Vail Champion in 2015 and 2016 and competed at the 2017 U23 World Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Weller and Bernick have lead the lightweight men through the fall and winter seasons and now start their spring championship season with hopes of reaching to the podium at the Dad Vail Regatta and returning to the IRA Championships.

"Of all the great teams I have been involved with over the years the one thing they had in common was strong leadership from the captains" said head coach Adrian Spracklen. "One of the qualities I really like about the captains this year is their team-first mentality. They are all accomplished individuals in their own right, but what I respect is their focus on the team above any individual. They just get it, and that will bode well for the whole team."

Stay up to date with the Lakers as they kick off the season in Alabama for a 10-day training trip and throughout the year by following @HurstRowing on Twitter.