PHILADELPHIA - In their final competition of the fall season, the La Salle Crew saw the medal dock twice, and was seconds away from a third at the Frostbite Regatta on the Schuylkill River. Despite a head wind on the 2,000-meter course, both the Men's Freshman/Novice Four and the Women's Varsity Four A boats battled and collected some new hardware. In all, the Explorers has eight boats in competition on Saturday.
First on the water for the Explorers on the day was the Women's Freshman/Novice Four consisting of Gillian Powell, Meg Brown, Sadie Mazur, Karen Mahoney and coxswain Katie Teevan. They crossed the finish line in a time of 8:49.31, placing them fourth out of five boats. Taking first in the race was St. Joseph's with a time of 7:54.74.
Next to race was the Men's Novice Four consisting of Matt Stoltz, Matt Weidemer, Joe Hughes, Justin Weiner and coxswain Steve Amarillo. They won the race and stopped the clock in 6:03.94.
Following a big win was the Men's JV Eight consisting of Adam Sutkus, Mark Ricciardi, Rob Thomas, Tom McGoldrick, Joe Scibetta, Bryan Schwartz, Paul LaPolla, Max Orenstein and coxswain Nicole Caronia. They clocked a time of 6:59.27, which put them in fourth place out of five boats. Winning the race was a Drexel boat in 6:28.16.
The next win for the Explorers came from the Women's Varsity Four, rowed by Michelle DeLong, Molly Gatch, Sadie Mazur, Patrice Girard and coxswain Nicole Caronia. In a close finish, first and second place were separated by a mere 1.84 seconds, La Salle edged out Binghamton in a time of 8:11.07.
The Women's Varsity Four B consisting of Allison Pretak, Rita Brown, Jackie Smolarek, Jen Sammartino and coxswain Katie Teevan raced in the following heat. They took fourth place in a time of 8:13.37, while Lafayette won the race in 7:22.11.
Ending the day on the women's side was the Varsity Eight, who earned a second-place finish. The boat, consisting of Aimee Nichols, Dani Fralen, Kellie Nadeau, Liz McGrain, Shauna Goetz, Kristen Weimer, Becky Mahney, Sarah Brown and coxswain Colleen Green, stopped the clock in 7:16.71, just seven seconds away from first-place Binghamton (7:09.92).
On the men's side, their Varsity Eight consisting of Terrence McClain, James Keough, Matt Stoltz, Matt Weidemer, Blaine Kneeshaw, Ryan Fair, Zach Coons, Pete Berenotto and coxswain Francesca Cupo crossed the finish line with a time of 6:09.55. That was good for third place out of five boats, with Drexel winning in a time of 5:52.86.
