The team drove north to Ithaca, NY last weekend where it competed at “Touchdown the Bear”, an annual regatta hosted by Cornell that offered two rounds of racing. Round one featured pairs and fours amongst the more experience oarsmen, and eights between the less experienced. Round two strictly consisted of eights. Each round involved a 3000m head race directly followed by a 300m “super sprint”. Finish order was determined by the addition of the head race time to the super sprint time multiplied by three.
Round one yielded mixed results. The pairs finished towards the bottom half of the field while the fours and eights finished in the middle of the pack. Since the overwhelming majority of training this fall had occurred in eights, the transition to smaller boats wasn’t necessarily an easy one for some athletes, particularly bowmen who had to navigate steering in the absence of a coxswain. Nevertheless, all pairs came off the water in high spirits, able to appreciate a new experience despite how challenging it might have been. The “A” four produced the strongest result of the morning by placing 4th of 16, while the “B” and “C” crews finished 11th and 15th, respectively. The novice eights raced next. Separated by only 0.5 seconds, both Bucknell lineups proved to be even, finishing ahead of the Hobart Novices, Ithaca Novices and the RIT “B” entry.
The team consolidated into eights for the second round of racing, where it fielded a 1v, 2v, 3v and 4v in the same event. Having been edged by Hobart and Ithaca the weekend prior at the Head of the Charles, the 1v entered the race with a point to prove. Payback was achieved, as the crew defeated both programs by a slim margin. Its aggregate time was good for fifth overall, just behind the Mercyhurst 1v and each of Cornell lightweight entries. The 2v found itself sandwiched between Mercyhurst and Ithaca, and the 3v went one second faster than Hobart during its head race, but ultimately finished one spot below them upon super sprint calculation. Consisting of the same novice rowers from round one, the 4v knew that it was likely outmatched, so the boat aimed to build off its race from the morning and top the Hobart 4v, which it was able to do in convincing fashion.
The team will have to wait until March for its next competition at the University of Virginia. In the meantime, it will develop its fitness on the erg and emerge from the winter an even stronger, closer group.
Racing lineups – Round 1
2-
“A”
S: Ben Schaffer, Fr.
B: Luca Arvanitis, So.
“B”
S: Jack Fiala, Sr.
B: Andrew Viola, Jr.
“C”
S: Sen Zelov, So.
B: Kevin Carney, Jr.
“D”
S: Luke Lambropoulos, Jr.
B: Kellen Paulsen, Fr.
4+
“A”
Cox: Emma Minadeo, Sr.
Stroke: Zach Gerhardt, Jr.
3: Conor McNichols, So.
2: Ryan Spallone, So.
Bow: Ryan Genel, Fr.
“B”
Cox: Ben Weggeland, Sr.
Stroke: Aidan DeWitt, So.
3: Tim Robertson, Fr.
2: James McGarry, Fr.
Bow: Chris Kirby, Fr.
“C”
Cox: Josiah Kwok, Fr.
Stroke: Andy Thompson, So.
3: Oliver Abushacra, Fr.
2: Will Amrhein, Jr.
Bow: Garrett Van Blarcom-DeLiuse, Fr.
8+
Novice
Cox: Jack Lieblein, Fr.
Stroke: Carson Giust, Fr.
7: Griffin Walsh, Fr.
6: Josh Raeter, Fr.
5: Christian Wall, Fr.
4: Ryan Firestone, Fr.
3: John Kirincich, Fr.
2: Will Blumenthal, Fr.
Bow: Travis Stanitis, Fr.
Novice Combo
Cox: Dennis Kim, Fr.
Stroke: Brian Skeels, Sr.
7: Brent Mankin, Sr.
6: Graham Knox, Jr.
5: Mason Cametas, Sr.
4: Brendan Arnold, Jr.
3: Dan Van Syckle, Sr.
2: Chris Morale, Fr.
Bow: Peter Nasto, Fr.
Racing lineups – Round 2
8+
1v
Cox: Emma Minadeo, Sr.
Stroke: Luke Lambropoulos, Jr.
7: Andrew Viola, Jr.
6: Zach Gerhardt, Jr.
5: Conor McNichols, So.
4: Kevin Carney, Jr.
3: Jack Fiala, Sr.
2: Ryan Genel, Fr.
Bow: Ryan Spallone, So.
2v
Cox: Ben Weggeland, Sr.
Stroke: Ben Schaffer, Fr.
7: Luca Arvanitis, So.
6: Aidan DeWitt, So.
5: Tim Roberston, Fr.
4: James McGarry, Fr.
3: Chris Kirby, Fr.
2: Sen Zelov, So.
Bow: Kellen Paulsen, Fr.
3v
Cox: Brennan Newcomb, Fr.
Stroke: Brian Skeels, Sr.
7: Oliver Abushacra, Fr.
6: Andy Thompson, So.
5: Mason Cametas, Sr.
4: Graham Knox, Jr.
3: Garrett Van Blarcom-DeLuise, Fr.
2: Will Amrhein, Jr.
Bow: Brent Mankin, Sr.
Novice 8
Cox: Austin Carroll, Fr.
Stroke: Carson Giust, Fr.
7: Griffin Walsh, Fr.
6: Josh Raeter, Fr.
5: Christian Wall, Fr.
4: Ryan Firestone, Fr.
3: John Kirincich, Fr.
2: Will Blumenthal, Fr.
Bow: Travis Stanitis, Fr.
| 3k | 300m | Aggregate = 3k + (300m x 3) | ||
| 1 | Cornell Lwt 1v | 9:37.5 | 48.2 | 12:02.0 |
| 2 | Cornell Lwt 2v | 9:51.4 | 49.5 | 12:20.0 |
| 3 | Mercyhurst 1v | 10:00.7 | 52.4 | 12:37.9 |
| 4 | Cornell Lwt 3v | 10:01.5 | 52.2 | 12:38.2 |
| 5 | Bucknell 1v | 10:06.4 | 51.2 | 12:39.9 |
| 6 | Hobart 1v | 10:04.8 | 52.6 | 12:42.6 |
| 7 | Ithaca 1v | 10:10.1 | 51.8 | 12:45.4 |
| 10 | Hobart 2v | 10:18.2 | 51.3 | 12:52.2 |
| 12 | Mercyhurst 2v | 10:25.2 | 49.8 | 12:54.7 |
| 13 | Bucknell 2v | 10:26.8 | 53.5 | 13:07.3 |
| 14 | Ithaca 2v | 10:45.1 | 55.0 | 13:30.1 |
| 16 | Hobart 3v | 11:01.2 | 56.4 | 13:50.4 |
| 17 | Bucknell 3v | 11:00.6 | 57.2 | 13:52.1 |
| 18 | Bucknell Novice | 11:38.6 | 1:00.8 | 14:40.8 |
| 19 | Hobart 4v | 11:56.3 | 1:04.1 | 15:08.6 |