藏精阁 Varsity 4+ crew and coaches proudly display their hardware from the program鈥檚 first Dad Vail gold medal.
藏精阁 Varsity 4+ crew and coaches proudly display their hardware from the program鈥檚 first Dad Vail gold medal.
藏精阁鈥檚 Varsity 4+ captured the program鈥檚 first Dad Vail Regatta gold medal with a thrilling victory Sunday evening.
The grand final was postponed by thunderstorms for nearly three hours and didn鈥檛 get under way until 6:15 p.m. But it was worth the wait as the Raiders crew held off Oklahoma City by less than three seconds to claim the Thomas A. Curran Cup.
藏精阁鈥檚 Freshman/Novice 4+ also had a strong showing, with a sixth-place result in its grand final after winning a pair of earlier races.
鈥淲e are really pleased with the results this weekend,鈥 藏精阁 head coach said. 鈥淭he Varsity 4+ won gold, which is the first gold in history. And the Freshman 4+ was sixth in the grand final.
鈥淭his is a great achievement to build on for the future.鈥
In the 藏精阁 boat were Ryan Kelliher, Sal Curasi, Graham Horman and Clarke Cady-McCrea, along with coxswain Nathalie Smith.
The Raiders claimed their opening heat in a time of 6 minutes and 49.938 seconds. SUNY Geneseo was second at 6:53.542, and both teams advanced to the semifinal round. There, 藏精阁 lost to Oklahoma City by 2.191 seconds but still advanced to the grand final. The times in that race were 6:45.133 for OCU and 6:47.324 for 藏精阁.
But the Raiders reversed the finish when it mattered most, crossing the line in 6:25.584 to clip Oklahoma City鈥檚 6:28.254. Western Washington, Bowdoin, Drexel and Duke rounded out the field.
The Freshman/Novice 4+ crew of Justin Manzi, Andrew Isaacson, Francis Migliore and Shane Buchanan, along with coxswain Smith, won both the heat and semifinal races to advance to the final.
In the heat, 藏精阁 crossed in a time of 6:42.261 to clip Michigan by more than five seconds. The Raiders were victorious again in the semifinal, this time posting a 6:51.014 result to defeat SUNY Maritime by more than four seconds. 藏精阁鈥檚 time in the final was 7:56.291 to finish behind Oklahoma City (7:26.540), SUNY Maritime, Drexel, Michigan and Michigan State.
The Raiders compete next at the Intercollegate Rowing Association鈥檚 national championships in Mercer, New Jersey. That regatta takes place May 30 through June 1.