Women's Rowing | 5/2/2011 1:11:00 PM
ITHACA, NY – The women's crew team made the most of the cancelled New York State Collegiate Rowing Championships this weekend, racing at Ithaca College on Sunday, May 1 and earning wins in the novice 8 and varsity 4+ events. For the first time in recent racing history for the host Bombers, several races were run on Cayuga Lake, with the fours racing on the more protected Cayuga Inlet. The longest Finger Lake at just under 40 miles long, Cayuga provided a straight, six lane 2,000 meter course from the south end of the lake north on the west shore.
In perhaps the most memorable race of the season, RIT's novice 8 charged off the line with a strong start to jump ahead with Ithaca A, steadily walking away from the rest of the pack. At 1,000 meters the Tigers had opened a comfortable lead of three quarters of a boat length of open water on Ithaca. Due to progressively worsening race conditions as the wind picked up throughout the morning, the boats faced white caps in the final 500 meters. With victory well within their grasp, the Tigers were thwarted by an opened oar lock and subsequent crab with 250 meters to go. As stern pair worked to alleviate the technical difficulty, bow six continued to power down the course, staying ahead of Ithaca. Adding stern pair back in for the final stroke of the race, the Tigers held off the Bombers to win by 1.7 seconds. Anchored by coxswain #
Wendy Gutcher (Fairfax Station, VA/South County)#, RIT's line-up featured stroke #
Nicole Conway (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy)#, seven seat #
Reba Conway (Grand Island/Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart)#, six seat #
Kristin Roberts (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles)#, five seat #
Devan Musa (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca)#, four seat
Dani Absi (Cleveland, OH/Bay Village), three seat #
Sarah Hadley (Monument, CO/Lewis Palmer)#, two seat #
Sam Deakin (Clarence, NY/Clarence) and bow ()Shelby Mancuso (Torrington, CT/Torrington)#. The Tigers posted a winning time of 7:19.2, with Ithaca A (7.21.4), Army (7.28.1), Marist (7.53.1) and Ithaca B (8.00.3) rounding out the field.
The varsity 4+ of stroke
Sabine Loebner (Leisning, Germany/Lessing-Gymnasium Doebeln), three seat
Anne Wapshare (Blasdell, NY/Immaculata Academy), two seat #
Ashley Pastor (Poughkeepsie, NY/F.D. Roosevelt)#, bow #
Emily Burns (Annapolis, MD/Broadneck)#, and coxswain #
Eileen Kobal (Erie, PA/Fairview)# raced Army B in one of two varsity 4+ pairings. The Tigers crossed the line with a time of 7.52.8, well ahead of Army (8.39.2). Driven by the clock, RIT's consistently applied strength served them well, as they earned the top time and the title of first place winners in the Varsity 4+ event. Army A came in second with a time of 7.59.5 and Ithaca (8.24.6) third.
“It was an awesome day for our squad,” said Associate Head Coach Fredyne Yust. “After the disappointment of not having a Championship race this weekend, the excitement of racing several of the state's top-notch crews took over and both boats executed their race plans to a tee. Everyone has been working hard and over the course of the season consistently demonstrated a resiliency that speaks volumes to the talent this group possesses. The novices in particular were incredibly poised under intense pressure and came off the water with a race memory that I'm positive will endure longer than many others!”
The Tigers travel to Worcester, MA next weekend for the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships, held Sunday, May 8.
