The Canisius rowing program got strong results from its varsity eight and second varsity eight, which helped the squad close its home regatta, the Head of the Charles, strong at West Side Rowing Club on Sunday. The Griffs opened the day with a win at the varsity four, but showed its skill and power in the varsity eight race, securing the top two spots in the field.
“If we struggle at all in the beginning we want to make sure we don’t by the end of the day,” head coach Joel Furtek said. “I”m really proud of how the team responded. We were certainly honest, thorough, and aggressive with them in our breakdown after the morning race and what they needed to do this afternoon. So for a crew to respond that strongly in an adverse situation with a lot of distractions, that was great.”
The varsity eight and second varsity eight proved to be the class of the regatta, with both boats coming in first and second, respectively. The first varsity eight consisting of Alexandra Heinz, Shannon Pritzker, Kira Voyer, Kathryn Hobika, Jessica Fabian, Patricia Beaulieu, Molly Murphy, Sydney Bichsel and Kaitlyn Taylor, came in with a time of 12:02.09, while the second varsity eight of Erin Grim, Liz DelBarba, Michelle Turner, Brooke Stanley, Madeline Kurka, Audrey Rieman, Tara Federow, Emma Vicaretti and Grace Horner, placed second with a time of 12:46.3. D’Youville’s varsity eight rounded out the top three during the race.
That performance helped put an exclamation mark on the day, with the varsity four also finding victory in the early race of the day.
The Canisius “A” boat placed first overall, as Melissa Frank, DelBarba, Vicaretti, Grim and Gianna Ortolani, finished with a time of 13:40.89. D’Youville was close behind with a time of 13:41.97.
The Canisius “B” varsity four placed third, as Federow, Kurka, Rieman, Stanley, and Horner, finished with a time of 14:02.95. Meanwhile the third and final varsity four of Mackenzie App, Alexandria Holt, Bridget Lillis, Chanel Davis, and Misa Gamble, finished fifth with a time of 14:24.55.
“The other great thing about this weekend is a little bit of a carnival goes on off the course,” Furtek said. “It’s great preparation for next week when we race the Head of the Charles in front of 250,000 people. So with all the distractions that may have affected us in the morning I’m really excited that they were able to overcome them in the afternoon and it’s a great step for us. When we look back at the day as a whole, I think that’s the message we take home, that we figured it out on a small stage in time to put in a good result for the afternoon.”
This regatta served as a final training point for the crown jewel of the Canisius schedule, the Head of the Charles, slated for Saturday. The most prestigious regatta in the fall slate will conclude the fall season, as the squad begins to prepare indoors in order to get ready for the spring conference season.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
