FELLSMERE, Fla.—The Barry rowing team closed out the fall with a solid showing at the FIRA Fall Classic on Saturday, including a gold medal for the varsity 4. The weather was favorable with flat water and a moderate headwind that averaged a little over seven miles per hour with gust of over 13 mph.
“It was another great day of racing for the entire squad,” head coach Dave Sanderson said afterward. “I’m really pleased with the varsity results. Both the 8 and the 4 really rowed aggressively. It wasn’t perfect, but we came out and wanted to row strong and I think we accomplished that.”
In the varsity 8 race, the Bucs (Cox – Grace Horwitz, Renee Forcier, Helene Pierre, Brighid Davis, Courtney Greene, Haley Stark, Jennifer Feriozzi, Feyebrina Gogue, Rebekah Kilroy) placed third with a time of 10:09, just five seconds behind the Florida Gators. Nova Southeastern’s “A” crew took first place in 9:45, while, in fourth to seventh, Florida Tech (10:11), Florida State (10:16), Nova Southeastern “B” (10:43) and Rollins (10:46) rounded out the field.
In the novice four race, the Bucs fielded a pair of entries, with the “A” boat placing fourth and the “B” coming in sixth. The “A” boat (Cox – Karen Kehoe, Fayebrina Gogue, Sam McKenzie, Mandy Carper, Abigail Hrinko) finished with a time of 13:32, while the “B” boat (cox – Danielle Wilson-Wolfe, Starasia Black, Laura Boloix, Sylvia Innocent, Richie Saville) rowed in at 14:09. Nova Southeastern took first place in 12:32.
“The novices gained a ton of experience,” Sanderson said. “It was the first time in a big competitive environment for a lot of them. Many didn’t even know what rowing was on September 1st. So it’s all about gaining experience for them.”
The varsity 4 crew (Cox – Grace Horwitz, Renee Forcier, Helene Pierre, Haley Stark, Courtney Greene) provided the highlight of the day, taking first place out of 13 boats in a time of 12:01, six seconds ahead of Nova’s “A” boat.
“In the four, they just really stepped up pushed their own limits,” Sanderson said. “They got that four down the course with a lot of guts.”
The novice 8 boat (Cox – Karen Kehoe, Fayebrina Gogue, Sam McKenzie, Mandy Carper, Abigail Hrinko, Starasia Black, Laura Boloix, Sylvia Innocent, Richie Saville) closed out the day with an eighth-place finish with a time of 14:59. Florida took first and second, with the Gators’ “A” rowing 11:34 and the “b”
“The fall season is over and now the next time we get to compete is in March,” Sanderson said. That’s a lot of time to improve and we’re looking forward to it.”