NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Three crews posted first-place finishes as the Fairfield University rowing teams competed at the Novak Memorial Metropolitan Championships. The men's novice 4, women's JV8, and the men's novice 8 each secured gold at the annual event.
The men's novice 4 were the first grouping to cross the finish line for the Stags, posting the top time both in its heat (7:15.1) and the final (7:25.0). The boat included Grant Reteiny,
Braeden Gibbons,
Anthony Tapinis,
Andrew Herman, and coxswain
Cedric Wysocki.
The women's junior varsity 8 took home first place by completing the distance in 7:25.2 behind the efforts of Megan Rourke, Cailey Chechitelli, Sasha Atencio, Cackie Martin, Miranda Schmidt, Julie Pedrazzi, Catherine Morrissey, Sarah Wendling, and coxswain Lexi Tomlinson.
The men's novice 8 also took home laurels with by clocking with the fastest time of 6:47.2. The Stags were represented by Grant Reteiny,
Braeden Gibbons,
Matthew Benestad, Vincent DiPalo,
Trevor Buti,
John Blaney,
Anthony Tapinis,
Andrew Herman, and coxswain
Cedric Wysocki.
The women picked up a pair of second-place runs in the junior varsity 4 and the varsity 8 at the championship. The junior varsity 4 earned its medal based on its time of 9:02.42 with Raquel DeLeo, Grace Polatsek, Mia Van Mater, Caity Gregitis, and coxswain Alisa Tsavaris combining for the placement.
For the varsity 8, the Stags just missed the top spot by four seconds, registering a time of 7:12.81 courtesy of Arianna Welton, Shawn O'Brien, Kelly Cullen, Zuzanna Janusz, Victoria Conrad, Molly Squire, Emma Szachta, Grace McDonough, and coxswain Marianna Kalin.
The men's junior varsity 8 picked up bronze with its efforts on the course, clocking in at 6:52.58. The shell was comprised of
James Penczak,
Frank DiNatale,
James Casper,
Eamon Tonna,
Lanyon Henwood, Tommy McLaughlin,
Jack Cartnick,
George Voegele, and coxswain
Patrick Arsenault.
The women's novice 4 garnered a third-place finish in its heat (8:50.45) before returning for a fourth-place run in the final (9:11.11) as Ainsley Hoeksema, Sadie Eppinger, Cate Quinones, Molly Cleary, and coxswain Emma Sieger wore the Fairfield colors.
The men's varsity 8 competed in its heat and came away with a third-place time of 7:08.56. The crew included
Zalan Kovacs, Sam Elliott,
Connor Carroll,
Nicholas Tapinis, Bryan Peknic,
Ryan Wrynn,
Ean Ray,
Luca Tarricone, and coxswain Skye DeRaffele.
The women's varsity 4 also competed in a pair of races this afternoon, posting a second-place time of 8:28.59 in its heat and a fifth-place time of 9:01.91 in the final. The Stags entry consisted of Zoey Ames, Jill Newman, Nora O'Connell, Ava Bistoff, and coxswain Grace Tyska.
Next up, the men's team will have next weekend off before making the trip to the Dad Vail Regatta on May 9-10 while the women's team will row at the Sacred Heart Invitational on May 4.
