MELBOURNE, Fla.—The Barry University rowing team used a strong first day race to propel them into a second-place team finish at the SSC Rowing Championships on Saturday morning.
In the varsity 4+ event on Friday, the Bucs (Cox – Janice Avila, Stroke – Jedidah Morrell, Courtney Greene, Kelsey Garcia, Bow-Jen Cortina) finished second in their dual heat against Nova Southeastern with a time of 10:32.7. The Sharks won in 9:35.7.
Two other teams, Rollins and Tampa went head to head in the varsity 4+, both earning times good enough to qualify for the varsity 4+ finale on Saturday.
In the varsity 8 event on Friday, the Bucs (Cox – Priscilla Donahue, Stroke – Robin Cascioli, Renee Forcier, Elise Carlson, Summerlin Knipe, Katelyn Rogers, Rebekah Evans, Vanessa Viaderro, Bow-Rhiannon Doka) went head-to-head against Florida Tech, winning in a time of 7:53.9. Though the Panthers lost, their time was fast enough to qualify them for the final on Saturday with Nova and Barry.
In the varsity 8 final, the Bucs faced a strong headwind. Nova led early in the race, ahead by seven seats with 1000 meters to go. Barry fought back, earning a three-seat with 400 meters left, but were unable to hold off a strong Sharks finish. The Bucs went on to finish second in 8:05.9, two and a half seconds behind Nova. Florida finished third in 8:24.2.
“It was a hard fought race with a lot of lessons learned,” head coach Dave Sanderson said. “We fought hard to come even with Nova, but they outraced us in the end.”
Overall, the Bucs finished second with 13 points. Nova Southeastern won the conference title for the second year in a row with 20 points, while Rollins finished third with nine points.
“I am happy with the team for racing hard and taking second as a team,” said Sanderson. “It shows their hard work, and how far they’ve come in a year.”
The team returns to action on Saturday, May 9 at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia.
Event 5- Varsity 4 Combo Race
Nova Southeastern 9:52.8
Barry 11:00.1
Event 6- Varsity 4 Grand Final
Nova Southeastern 9:29.6
Rollins 9:40.5
Tampa 10:03.0
Event 7- Varsity 8 Grand Final
Nova Southeastern 8:03.5
Barry 8:05.9
Florida Tech 8:24.2
Final Standings
Nova 20 Points
Barry 13 Points
Rollins 9 Points