Men's crew enjoys outstanding outing at the 2012 New York State Rowing Championships

Men's Rowing | 5/6/2012 12:15:00 PM

WHITNEY POINT, NY - Despite cooler than expected conditions, the RIT men's crew squads enjoyed tremendous success at the 2012 New York State Collegiate Rowing Championships at Whitney Point on Saturday and Sunday. The men ended on a high note with on Saturday with a victory in the men's Open Four event, while the Novice Four earned a bronze medal on Sunday.

On Saturday, the men's open four of #Lianna Potrikus (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna)#, #Keith Martin (Poughkeepsie, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes)#, #Tim Halsch (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real)#, #Christopher Almonte (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Urban School of Design and Construction)#, and #Fran Perkovic (Zadar, Croatia/Gimnazia Jurja Barakovica)# put together an explosive piece. The four built an open water lead in the middle thousand which they extended to a 21 second margin of victory over second place NYU. This is the first state win for all five members of the crew.

the RIT men opened the morning in varsity eight heat one. The crew of #T.J. Binotto#, Stu Burgess (Buffalo, NY/City Honors), #Sean Kennelly (Mendon, VT/Rutland)#, #Evan Moreshead (Saco, ME/Thornton Academy)#, #Nick Lipala (Lake Hoptacong, NJ/Jefferson Township)#, #Chris Massey (Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields)#, #George Spragins (Brockport, NY/Brockport)#, #Fielding Confer (Waverly, PA/Abington Heights)#, and #Chris Guerra ( West Seneca, NY/Canisius)# started well in a competitive field including Marist, Union, Hamilton and Albany. In the middle thousand, turbulent water led to successive boat-stopping crabs. Despite rapid restarts and a strong sprint, the men were unable to catch the race leaders and finished in fourth place, five seconds behind third place Hamilton.

The top-seeded men's novice four of Cam Baker (Rochester, NY/Fairport), #Tim Halsch (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real)#, #Eric Schulken (Mount Pleasant, SC/Academic Magnet)#, #Shaun Avery (Lisbon, ME/Lisbon)#, and #Chad Monkhouse (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone)# cruised through the first 1,500 meters of their heat. In the final 500, the men executed an impressive sprint, leaving Ithaca and Vassar in their wake while closing the gap on first place SUNY Buffalo to seven seconds.

Under sunny skies and the best water conditions in recent years, the RIT men took to the water in Whitney Point, NY for day two of the regatta.

The men's varsity eight of Binotto, Burgess, Kennelly, Moreshead, Lipala, Massey, Spragins, Confer, and Guerra were quick off the line and pressed their advantage in the middle thousand to gain an open water lead going into the final 500 meters. The Tigers held off a charging Rochester crew to get the win with a one second margin.

The men's novice four of Baker, Halsch, Schulken, Avery, and Monkhouse were looking to medal in Sunday's final after a comfortable qualifying heat on Saturday. The field, including USMMA, SUNY Buffalo, Clarkson, Army and RPI, started well and remained bunched through the first 1,000 meters. After the halfway point, Buffalo emerged as the race leader and paced the field. RIT fought for position with USMMA and RPI, ultimately settling for the bronze ahead of RPI, Army and Clarkson.

The men will close out their season on Friday, May 11th at the ECAC regatta in Worcester, MA.

Players Mentioned

Fielding Confer: Port; 6' 0"; Junior

Chris Guerra: Starboard/Port; 6' 0"; Senior

Sean Kennelly: Starboard/Port; 6' 1"; Sophomore

Chris Massey: Starboard/Port; 5' 10"; Sophomore

Evan Moreshead: Port; 6' 4"; Senior

Cameron Baker: Coxswain; 5' 7"; First Year

Stuart Burgess: Starboard/Port; 5' 9"; Senior

Chad Monkhouse: Port; 5' 9"; First Year

Lianna Potrikus: Coxswain; 5' 4"; First Year

Fran Perkovic: Port; 5' 9"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Fielding Confer
: 6' 0"; Junior
: Port

Chris Guerra
: 6' 0"; Senior
: Starboard/Port

Sean Kennelly
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: Starboard/Port

Chris Massey
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: Starboard/Port

Evan Moreshead
: 6' 4"; Senior
: Port

Cameron Baker
: 5' 7"; First Year
: Coxswain

Stuart Burgess
: 5' 9"; Senior
: Starboard/Port

Chad Monkhouse
: 5' 9"; First Year
: Port

Lianna Potrikus
: 5' 4"; First Year
: Coxswain

Fran Perkovic
: 5' 9"; Junior
: Port