April 27, 2008
PHOTO GALLERY
PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's Men's Varsity 8 capped a great day for the Hawks by winning the Bergen Cup, representative of the city championship, over local rivals Temple, Drexel and La Salle on the
Schuylkill River. Together with the SJU women's team, the Hawks put on a
dominating performance winning 8 of the 9 events they entered.
It was the first time that the Hawks won the Bergen Cup, capturing the Varsity 8 race, since 1978.
For the SJU Men's Varsity 8, the victory was confirmation of
something the boat has known all season- that it was just a matter of
time before they demonstrated their speed. Throughout this spring
season, the Hawks' V8 made steady progress and gained speed each
week. However, they were unable to put together a complete race for
a victory prior to the Bergen Cup. But after a solid week of practice, the
boat felt confident going into the Bergen Cup, their first home race
of the season.
Senior Marc Malott described the situation, "We have been working hard all season and have shown good speed in practice, but we just haven't been able to move the boat together for a complete race. This week things started to gel and we made some big strides in moving the boat as a unit."
Rowing in lane 2, the Hawks had a solid start to the race and were
level with Temple (lane 3), Drexel (lane 4) and La Salle (lane 1)
through the first 300 meters. At a base rate of 36 strokes per
minute (spm), the Hawks moved out on all three crews in the next 300
meters going into the turn at the Strawberry Mansion Bridge. As they
passed through the 1000 meter mark in front of SJU's Gillen
Boathouse, the Hawks heard the roar of the crowd and pushed their
lead out to one length over Temple, with Drexel trailing another half
length back and La Salle falling behind the pack. In the third 500,
the Hawks maintained their lead of one length and countered pushes by
Temple and Drexel. With 350 meters to go the Hawks raised their
cadence to 38 spm, but Temple and Drexel still gained ground. With
15 strokes left in the race, the Hawks made one final push to stay
ahead and held off Temple by 0.7 seconds, with Drexel back another
3.1 seconds.
Head coach Drew Hill ('74) was very pleased by the effort and
execution that lead to the victories. "Our guys did a
terrific job today and I am very proud of how the boats performed
across the board," said Hill.
The 2nd Varsity 8 followed up their victory at the SIRA Regatta with
another solid performance and convincing win. "Sometimes after a
big win like SIRA you can let your guard down in the next race,"
said Coach Hill. "Our 2V showed a lot of poise and really executed
well in their race."
On the Freshmen side of the team, the Hawks 1F and 2F both defeated
Drexel to finish first and second respectively. The only loss on
the day for the Hawks came in the V4 where the SJU Lightweight 4
finished 2nd behind Temple, but ahead of Philadelphia U., Drexel, and
Villanova.
Next up for the Hawks is the Dad Vail Regatta on May 9-10 on
the Schuylkill River. The Hawks Varsity 8 will be looking to capture
their first championship in 38 years when they face off against a
deep field including Purdue, Grand Valley, Temple, Jacksonville, FIT,
Colgate, and others.
For complete results, click here.
Line-ups:
Varsity 8: Str - Jordan Marwin, 7 - Tim Strybuck, 6 - Glenn Griffin,
5 - Sean King, 4 - Gavin Adams, 3 - Kevin Jacobs, 2 - Marc Malott 1 -
Adam Stoll, Cx - Paul Leggieri.
2V 8: Str - Ryan Huck, 7 - Adam Iaccio, 6 - Kevin Burrows, 5 -
Brendan Blessington, 4 - Michael Wingrove 3 - Max Schipper, 2 - Jack
Drewniak, 1 - Conor Malone, Cx - Sarah Jost
Freshmen 8: Str - Chase Powell, 7 - Steve Dutcher, 6 - Dan Gallagher,
5 - Mike Lavin, 4 - Steve Olenik, 3 - Austin Moench, 2 - Rich Appell,
1 - Bryce Cross, Cx - Ryan Pawling
2F Lt 8: Str - Billy Huzar, 7 - Mike Gibel, 6 - Bill Mecca, 5 -
Griffin Kelly, 4 - Luke Dentino, 3 - Rick DeFino, 2 -Nick Melitti , 1
- Matt Carrol, Cx - Stacey Gorin
Vlt4: Str - Sean Riley, 3 - Dave Lemon, 2 - Mark Fanelli, 1 - Chris
Garafalo, Cx - Becky Buscher
