The Canisius College rowing team concluded racing action in its mid-season racing trip at the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association (FIRA) Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. The Golden Griffins' Varsity Eight finished third overall and the Second Varsity Eight placed fourth.
Finishing third overall, the Griffs' Varsity Eight crossed the finish line at (7:52.3) with a 3.3 second lead over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) affiliate Jacksonville (7:55.6). The win marked the Griffs third of the season over a MAAC opponent with victories over both Fairfield and Loyola at the Jesuit Invitational to open the spring schedule. Taking first in the Varsity Eight race was Barry (7:29.5) followed by Nova Southeastern (7:37.6).
"I'm extremely proud of the way our Varsity Eight raced today," said head coach Joel Furtek. "They came out pulling and didn't relent against a hard-closing Jacksonville crew. It was a great step forward for our young team."
The Griffs' Second Varsity Eight placed fourth (8:28.3) behind Jacksonville (8:14.0), Florida (8:13.6), and Jacksonville, and first-place finisher Nova Southeasten (8:06.3).
"None of us is pleased with our execution today, and we don't feel we got a good measure of our ability," said Furtek. "This is an exceptionally young boat, with one woman in her second race and another in her first. We'll be throwing everything we can into a more mature race the next time down the course."
In an eight-boat field, the Novice crew took seventh with a time of 8:33.4.
"Our novices pulled hard but couldn't recover from an early, boat-stopping crab [when an oar gets stuck in the water]," explained Furtek. "No doubt it's a hard lesson that they'll take back to their next row tomorrow morning."
"The reception here from everyone, and especially the folks at Benderson, has been terrific. It feels like Buffalo moved South," stated Furtek. "Our thanks go to everyone in Sarasota and to FIRA for inviting us to the regatta. We have one more training day in Florida before we return to what we hope is a much warmer Buffalo and West Side Rowing Club."
The Blue and Gold will next compete at the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J. on April 12-14.
Canisius boatings:
Varsity Eight included junior Lynna Paradiso (1), senior Stephanie SanFilipo (2), junior Nancy Kennish (3), junior Liz McKinney (4), senior Bridget Laszewski (5), freshman Nora Kennon (6), senior Monica Klenk (7), sophomore Liz Reinwald (8), and freshman coxswain Hannah Blum.
Second Varsity Eight included freshman Corrine Kickel (1), senior Allison Braun (2), senior Amanda Kielich (3), senior Julia Roache (4), freshman Julie Sciandra (5), senior Bridget Wodowski (6), senior Alyssa Eddy (7), junior Meghan Martin (8), and freshman coxswain Jordan Bamrick.
Novice crew freshman Erica Mason (1), freshman Emma Miller (2), sophomore Briana Chamberlain (3), freshman Katie Tipa (4), freshman Jordan Joly (5), freshman Meghan Walsh (6), freshman Angela Graves (7), freshman Audrey Mariacher (8), and Bamrick as coxswain.
