April 3, 2007

PENNSAUKEN, NJ - The Saint Joseph's men's rowing team opened its season on March 25 on the Cooper River at the Jesuit Invitational against Georgetown, Holy Cross and Loyola. The Hawks went 2-for-6 in racing with the Varsity Lightweight 8 and the Freshmen 8 capturing victories on the day.

For the Freshmen 8 the spring season opened much the same way the fall season closed, with the Hawks well out in front of the competition. The Hawks posted a time of 6:51.5 into the headwind, besting the Georgetown A boat by over 12 seconds (7:04.2).

"We had a clean start and pulled away right from the first stroke of the race", said first-year coxswain Trevor Curran. Freshman Coach Dan Goettner ('01), now in his 4th season at the helm, was pleased by the boat's effort but knows much more work needs to be done. "This was an early season race into some tough conditions that our guys handled well. We need to build off of this early season speed to stay undefeated. Our next race, the GW Invite against Michigan, GW, Cornell, and UVA, will be a big test for our guys."

The Varsity Lightweight 8 also opened up the season on a strong note with an open water victory over Holy Cross in a two-boat race. Into a stiff headwind, the Hawks posted a time of 6:52.6 to Holy Cross' 7:10.0.

Varsity Lightweight coach Paul Mullin was impressed with the poise of the crew despite the adverse conditions. "Our guys really stepped up and took responsibility for getting themselves ready to race", said Mullin, who doubled as the timing official for the races. "Our rhythm was a bit rushed into the conditions but we worked hard through the water to move the shell out in front."

In the feature event of the day, the Hawks' Varsity 8 lineup, featuring two freshman rowers, was unable to match the strength and experience of the Georgetown and Holy Cross crews, finishing in third place. It was a disappointing row for the Varsity which has high expectations this year. "We had two very difficult weeks of practice and we knew this would be a difficult race", said Head Coach Drew Hill ('74). "We identified the problem and are looking forward to the next race".

In other racing, the 2V8, V4, and F4 fell to crews from Georgetown and Holy Cross in the difficult racing conditions.

The Hawks return to racing on April 6 & 7 at the GW Invitational in Washington, DC.

Line-ups: Varsity Heavyweight 8: Stephanie Gehringer (Senior, Cx), Ryan Huck (Frosh, Stk), Jeff Schaetzle (Senior, 7), Alex DiBiasi (Senior, 6), Sean Flynn (Senior, 5). Jack Drewniak (Soph, 4), Glenn Griffin (Frosh, 3), Dan Lachant (Senior, 2), and Andrew Friedlander (Senior, Bow).

Varsity Lightweight 8: Lauren Moran (Senior, Cx), Marc Mallott (Jr, Stk), William West (Sr, 7), Mike Wingrove (Soph, 6), Adam Stoll (Jr, 5), Steve Ramsey (Sr, 4), Kevin Burrows (Soph, 3), Jon Schneckenburger (Soph, 2), and Kevin Jacobs (Jr, Bow)