SHELTON, Conn. – The men's rowing team opened the Fall season with a first-place finish in the novice 8 as well as third and fourth-place runs in the open 4 at the Head of the Housatonic. The women's team placed two boats in both the varsity 8 and the open 4 races with an 11
th-place finish in the open 4 highlighting the day.
Fairfield's first event of the day was the novice 8 which the Stags winning the event by just over a minute over runner-up Yale University. The crew posted a time of 15:22.7 to take the top spot while the Bulldogs crossed the finish in 16:22.9 followed by Army West Point's run of 17:01.4. The Stags were represented by
Tyler Siwiec,
Zach Siwiec,
Joe Bannecker, Reid VanTrieste, Tom McLaughlin,
Nicholas Tapinis, Peter Racenello,
Alex McLaughlin, and coxswain Christian DiGangi
The men's collegiate 8 was next up on the schedule and the Stags entered a pair of shells that put together solid runs. The Stags' A boat, represented by
George Voegele,
Mike McCarthy,
Brendan Martin,
Ryan Wrynn,
Alex Hemmat,
Lanyon Henwood,
Spencer Chidley,
Zach Rogers, and coxswain
Skye Deraffele, finished the event in eighth place after a time of 16:14.4.
The B boat was 17
th on the afternoon with its time of 18:24.1 courtesy of Will La Motta,
Ryan MacDonnell, Nick Borovicka, Pat Arsenault, Alex Beckwith,
Eddie Pizzaro,
Robbie Melton,
Jack Cartnick, and coxswain
Angeles Mendoza. George Washington swept the top two spots of the collegiate 8 with the A boat finishing in 14:48.6 and the B boat posting a time of 15:13.6.
The open 4 was the final event for the men's team with the A entry garnering third place (16:31.8) followed by the B entry's fourth-place finish (16:35.0). Fairfield's A boat consisted of
Brady Stergion,
Michael Hamilton,
Michael Greene, Gerry Malloy, and coxswain Tom Flynn. The B shell was comprised by
Ryan Borsy ,Frankie Natale, Jake Godwin,
Ryan Wrynn, and coxswain Matt Tarabocchia.
The women's team produced positive results in the season-opening event as their day began in the collegiate 8. The B entry crossed the line in 21
st place after running the course in 17:44.5 behind the efforts of Gia Enderle, Grace McDonough, Miranda Schmidt, Mia Van Mater, Natalia Bertolotti, Chloe Lennon, Emma Szachta, Catherine Morrissey, and coxswain Ellery McSpedon.. The A crew was next with its 22
nd placement with Arianna Welton, Florencia Caces, Meghan Megill, Megan Blair, Kathryn Bergstrom, Arden Costello, Isabella King, Emily Regan, and coxswain Erin Dobbs.
Later in the afternoon, the open 4 saw the Stags' B boat come in the 11
th slot with its time of 20:45.6 while the A boat took the 14
th ranking after completing the run in 21:12.9. Trinity (18:18.9), Fordham (18:30.4), and Army West Point (18:49.8) occupied the top three places in the race. Fairfield was represented by Cassie Reilly, Adalia Flores, Olivia Burghardt, Caroline McAndrew, and coxswain Marianna Kalin in the B shell as well as Kiersten Murray, Megan Rourke, Shaylin Tombs, Sarah Wendling, and coxswain Michaela Thompson in the A shell.
