Men's Rowing | March 29, 2015

• Complete Results

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - The men's novice eight won its heat to advance to the event final to lead the La Salle rowing program in the 33rd Memorial Murphy Cup Regatta on the Cooper River this weekend. 

"Conditions were cold, but there was a tailwind that allowed crews to get really aggressive with their race plans," Head Coach Tom Madden said. "Our WV4 did a great job of being aggressive in their heat, but came up just short of advancing. The WV8 had a strong race, but not as aggressive as others in the heat and they could not advance. The MV4 continue to row well but are still searching to put together a full start-finish effort. The MV8 tried to get aggressive but ended up spinning their wheels and not executing like they execute on a daily basis; we need to figure that out before racing a tough Washington College crew Saturday. The MF8 didn't have their best heat, but managed to win and advance; their final was much better executed and they finished 5th in a very fast grand final."

The novice eight placed fifth overall in the final with a time of 6:26.52, outlasting Lehigh by over 11 seconds. Drexel's 'A' boat captured the race in 6:10.14, followed by Delaware 'B', Virginia 'A', and Drexel 'B'. The novices earned a berth in the final after blasting past the competition in the heat round. The Explorers finished first in their heat with a time of 6:34.07, toppling second-place Temple (6:37.940. Pittsburgh came in third, followed by Villanova 'A' and Boston College 'B'. 

The novice eight boat was coxed by Lindsey Prychka and rowed by Jake Fabel (stroke), Kieran Hughes (7), Zach LaBarth (6), Brendan Mason (5), Kyle Adams (4), Kenny Roller (3), Josh Brooks (2) and Kris Walls (bow).

On the men's side, the varsity four and varsity eight boats were also in action. The V4 finished fifth in its heat with a time of 8:27.00, besting Pitt by nearly 20 seconds. Virginia 'B' captured the heat by clocking a 7:08.86. North Carolina 'A' placed second, followed by Michigan 'A' and Rhode Island 'B'. The V4 was coxed by Angie Itaas and rowed by Nick McGloin (stroke), Russell Carter (3), James Boney (2) and Antonio Stephens (bow).

The V8 finished fifth in its race, clocking a 6:47.47. Michigan won in 6:07.59, followed by Boston College, Bates College and Hamilton College. The V8 was coxed by Grant Maddock and rowed by Jack Schall (stroke), Matt Cardin (7), Marqus Brown (6), Kevin Sullivan (5), Sean McGettigan (4), Bill Smith (3), Waleed Omar (2) and Jeff Waldin (bow).

The women's side had two entries in the Murphy Cup, including the varsity four and varsity eight. The V4 rowed a strong race to finish third in its heat to top Fordham and Penn State 'B'. The Explorers clocked an 8:27.07, well ahead of Fordham's 8:46.98 and Penn State's 9:18.45. George Washington 'A' won the heat in 8:19.22 and Buffalo 'A' placed second. The V4 was coxed by Emily Giegerich and rowed by Katie Van Stone (stroke), Brooke Spence (3), Jackie Gonzalez (2) and Gianna Harris-Campbell (bow).

The V8 placed fifth in its heat with an 8:02.57. Fordham won the heat in 6:57.10, followed by Buffalo, Lehigh and Rutgers. The boat was coxed by Katie Reyes and rowed by Catherine Goldschmidt (stroke), Emma Merrick (7), Savannah Fader (6), Amanda Ryan (5), Erika Gonzalez (4), Cora Jones (3), Maura McKenna (2) and Sofia Iaconelli (bow).

The men's squad is back in action this Saturday (4/4) with a dual at Washington College and the women host Bucknell for a dual on the Schuylkill River on Saturday as well.