STAFF REPORTS
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After having a weekend off from competition last week, the Blue and Gold battled through some early rust in the first round of races, but showed marked improvement in the second round of competition, as the Canisius rowing program completed the Black Rock Cup at West Side Rowing Club.
“Today was a really important day for our team to gain confidence going into the MAAC Championship,” head coach Erin Neppel said. “I thought overall between the first and second performances I saw quite an improvement in times and the way they approached the races, especially in the varsity eight.”
That same varsity eight opened up the first portion of raceday, as the squad of Mackenzie App, Alexandra Heinz , Shannon Pritzker, Kira Voyer, Kathryn Hobika, Tara Federow, Jessica Fabian, Sydney Bichsel and Misa Gamble, came in second, clocking in at 6:59.9, while Jacksonville finished with a time of 6:50.5.
In the second race of the day the varsity eight tallied a convincing victory over MAAC rival Fairfield, clocking in with a time of 6:51.1 while the Stags came in with a time of 7:07.3.
A down-to-the-wire finish in the second varsity eight consisting of Bridget Lillis, Madeline Kurka, Michelle Turner, Audrey Rieman, Molly Murphy, Patricia Beaulieu, Emma Vicaretti, Brooke Stanley and Grace Horner, led to the Griffs finishing just behind Fairfield, with a time of 7:11.8, while the Stags came in at 7:09.
In the second varsity eight’s second race of the day, Marist bested the boat with a time of 6:53.1, while Canisius finished with a time of 7:03.3.
The Griffs varsity four came in second in the opening portion of the race, as Alexandria Holt, Chanel Davis, Melissa Frank, Erin Grim and Kaitlyn Taylor, clocking in at 8:06.1, while Fairfield came out on top with a time of 8:03.1 and SUNY Geneseo was third with a time of 8:22.8.
In the final race of the day for the Griffs, the Varisty four were bested by Marist, as the Red Foxes slid by with a time of 6:53.1, while the Blue and Gold came in with a time of 7:03.3.
“They did what they said they were going to do, which is something that in the past hasn’t always been the case on race days,” Neppel said. “We still have much work to do, but we have three weeks to do it so today was definitely a positive step.”
The Griffs will now have three weeks to prepare for the MAAC Championship held in West Windsor Township, N.J. on May 12.
