CREW ‘mdash; It was a day of firsts for the Tritons when they learned their varsity eight squad would be making a trip to the International Rowing Association National Championships, scheduled in June. Racing at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on May 2 and 3 in Sacramento, the Tritons garnered a multitude of solid finishes to continue their record-breaking season, ultimately placing third at the event.
The men’s varsity eight, second varsity eight, novice eight and novice lightweight four boats each competed in the Grand Finals during day two of the regatta on Sunday. In Saturday’s preliminary stages, the varsity eight boat foreshadowed its success, placing first in the second heat with a time of 6:02.3. Moving on to compete in the Grand Finals, the Tritons faced an intense showdown against their rival Gonzaga University.
‘Gonzaga is a great crew with a lot of talent and depth,’ senior co-captain Jon Lynch said before the race. ‘They know we are targeting them and we know they are targeting us. From the second the starter says, ‘row’ it is going to be a fight till the last stroke.’
Lynch’s prediction turned out to be true as both boats were neck-and-neck around the 700-meter mark. The Bulldogs pushed forward to an advantage before the Tritons battled back and moved several seats into the lead with 500 meters left in the race. Unfortunately, Gonzaga was able to stretch ahead and slightly out of reach in the nick of time, crossing the finish line at 5:59.7. The Tritons finished with a time 6:00.3 to win a silver medal.
The varsity eight lineup featured junior Andrew Hilton, senior co-captain Ryan Andre, junior Jay Dee Morgan, senior Jeff Collett, sophomore Kris Grey, freshman Nathan Morgan, junior Karam Badran, sophomore Justin Gordon and coxswain Cameran Bittucci.
The second varsity eight also fared well, winning heat two in its division on the first day of competition. In the Grand Finals, Gonzaga again placed first, but UCSD’s finish of 6:26.9 was well ahead of third-place UC Davis’ time of 6:31.7. The men’s novice eight and novice lightweight four also put together strong performances despite the horrible weather. The novice eight finished fourth in its Grand Final with a time of 6:13.6, while the novice lightweight four recorded a fifth-place finish and time of 7:11.1.
After the day’s success, the Tritons took home numerous honors. Andre, Collett and Badran were named to the All-WIRA first team, while Lynch was a second team honoree. Head coach Zach Johnson was named Coach of the Year.
Women’s crew also performed well at the event, although rowers struggled with the challenge of competing in pounding rain. The varsity eight finished fourth in its petite final with a time of 7:29.8. Meanwhile both the varsity four and second varsity eight qualified for the Grand Finals, each placing sixth with times of 8:03.7 and 7:11.5, respectively. The team finished the event ranked third in Division II.
Men’s crew looks to conclude its phenomenal season June 4 through June 7 in its first-ever IRA Championships. Back into action a little sooner, women’s crew competes in the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships, which are scheduled for May 16 ‘mdash; a regatta that marks the final event before the NCAA Division-II National Championships.
‘Since we are usually a team that reaches its peak performance after the rest, we know we will still be getting faster and faster until the end of the season,’ senior co-captain Alissa Kispersky said. ‘We have been preparing for this part of the season for the whole year now, so we are basically ready for anything.’
Readers can contact Brianna Lee at [email protected].