DeLand, Fla—The Barry University rowing team kicked off the season on a high note on Saturday in the Stetson Sprints. The varsity boats combined for two first place finishes and a second while the novices earned a second place finish and a third place finish.
“It was a good day,” head coach Dave Sanderson said. “It’s a good start to the season and a great first race for all the boats.”
The Bucs captured first place in the varsity 8 event in a time of 7:30.3. Second place went to the team from Florida (7:49.0), while host Stetson captured third. The varsity 8 squad consisted of Gracie Horwitz-cox, Brianne Misner-stroke, Kelly Harrison-7, Katie Rogers-6, Jaimee Lampard-5, Nicki Marek-4, Renee Forcier-3, Courtney Greene-2, and Summerlin Knipe-bow.
Barry raced two boats in the varsity 4+ event, capturing the top two spots. The A4+ boat (Horwitz-cox, Misner-stroke, Lampard-3, Rogers-2, Forcier-bow) captured first with a time of 8:43.2. The B4+ boat (Vanessa Viadero-cox, Knipe-stroke, Marek-3, Rebekah Evans-2, Greene-bow) were second on the pace with a time of 9:19.7.
The novice group had a solid day as well. In the novice 8 event, the Bucs finished second in 8:24.3. Florida earned first in 8:04.00 while Florida Southern finished third in 8:29.4. The team consisted of Horwitz-cox, Merek-stroke, Consentina James-7, Bianca Boada-6, Helen Pierre-5, Sharnel Lyttle-4, Michelle Geiger-3, Kadi Karam-2, and Elizabeth McNair-bow
Like the varsity 4+, Barry raced two boats in the novice 4+. The novice A4+ boat (Horwitz-cox, Harrison-stroke, Marek-3, Geiger-2, and James-bow) earned third place in a time of 9:41.8. Meanwhile the novice B4+ team (Bianca Hall-cox, Boada-stroke, Pierre-3, Karam-2, Lyttle-bow) finished in sixth place. In the novice 4+ event South Florida finished first while the club team from Central Florida earned second.
“It’s a good springboard for us heading into spring break,” Sanderson added. “Everyone realizes that the hard work is yet to come, and the races are only going to get harder.”
The Bucs take some time off before heading into action again at the Canal 54 Duels on March 19.