Cooper River, NJ – The Mercyhurst Rowing Team traveled to Cooper River, New Jersey to compete in the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta. The team saw a gold medal performance from the lightweights and a bronze medal from the heavyweights and women's team.
How it Happened:
The first boat to head down the course for the Mercyhurst Lakers was the Men's Varsity 2- which consisted of (1) Josh Cole and (2) Ian Darling. The boat did not qualify for the Grand Final but won the Petite Final with a time of 8:07 ahead of Rollins and Pitt.
The next boat to hit the water for the Lakers was the Women's Varsity 2-, which consisted of (1) Grace Crounse and (2) Kate Kontrik. The pair took home a bronze medal in their final with a time of 8:47 ahead of Western Ontario and Rollins.
The third boat to come down the course for the Lakers was the Men's Varsity 4+, which consisted of (C) Seanna Zona, (1) Jovan Saric, (2) Oliver Stover, (3) Matthew Wnek, and (4) Nathaniel Harris. The 4+ finished in third place and brought home the bronze medal with a time of 6:42 ahead of Army, Oklahoma City, and Rollins.
The Women's Varsity 4+ was the next boat to hit the water for the Lakers which consisted of (C) Maddie Taylor, (1) Tabea Wieland, (2) Thea Felsner, (3) Julia Schultz, and (4) Blythe Lyons. The 4+ qualified for the finals but fell to FIT, MIT, Georgetown and Lafayette to finish in 5th place.
The next boat to race for the Lakers was the Men's Varsity Lightweight 4+, which consisted of (C) Emily McCauley, (1) Bogdan Protic, (2) Ivan Katic, (3) Ralph Kasow, (4) Marko Dojcinovic. The lightweight 4+ brought home the gold for the Lakers with a time of 6:33 ahead of Brock, Fordham, and Gordon.
The last boat to hit the water for the Lakers was the Men's 2nd Varsity 8+ which consisted of (C) Jax Bender, (1) Tim Silverman, (2) Isaac Feldmann, (3) Liam Wise, (4) Brayden Pinkham, (5) Anthony DePinto, (6) Cole Bardeschewski, (7) Lav Adamov, and (8) James Garoh. The 8+ did not qualify for the Grand Finals but finished in 2nd place in the Petite Finals just behind Jacksonville and ahead of Western Ontario and Fairfield.
When asked about this weekend's performance, Assistant Coach Nick Hannon said, "Both our Men's and women's team closed out the first year in Division 1 Rowing. The whole year they have been working hard and I'm proud of the consistent progress they've made. I'm grateful to have such strong leaders on our squad."
The Lakers have three weeks until the IRA. Both the men's lightweight and heavyweight fours are ready to train hard and end the season on a high note.
Up Next:
The Men's team will have 3 weeks off of racing before their final race of the year at the IRA National Championship at the Cooper River. The Lakers will start racing on May 30th.
