The Bucknell men attended the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship this past weekend. The MARC Championship was held on Lake Pinchot, in Lewisberry, PA. Conditions were near perfect, temperatures were in the lows 60’s with minimal winds and flat water.
The main event of the day was the Varsity Eight. The 1V finished second in their morning heat, closely trailing Washington College, to advance to the afternoon final. The Bison were to be tested in the final, with them, Washington College, and Marietta all posting times within 1 second of each other in the morning heats. The final would prove to be no different, all three boats hung tight to one another down the entire length of the course. A strong Bison move entering the last 500 meters saw them establish a half-length lead, but neither Marietta or Washington College would fall off the pace. Bucknell would cross the line in first, less than 2 seconds ahead of Marietta, with Washington College just 2.5 more seconds back. The 1V was rowed by Doug Burney ’16, Mike Savage ’19, Sam Jubb ’17, Billy Pinamont ’17, Jack Shelton ’18, John Leasure ’19, Dillon LaFata ’18, Ryan Thompson ’16, and was coxed by Perry Hamilton ’18.
Up next was the Second Varsity Eight. The 2V rowed to an easy first place in their morning heat, which set them up well for an afternoon final. Starting well, the 2V surged out to an early lead, then continued to push away from the field. The Bison would finish 13 seconds ahead of 2nd place Washington College. The 2V was rowed by Nick Barpoulis ’17, John Morcos ’19, Sam Wiley ’16, Thomas Marth ’19, Mike Pallotta ’18, Drew Vinnik ’17, Duncan Ragland ’19, Lucas Colagrossi ’17, and was coxed by Henry Leonardi ’18.
The Freshmen Eight rowed in a straight final, with only four entries. Like their 2V counterparts, the 1F surged out to an early lead, then continued to move away from the field, finishing 13 seconds ahead of 2nd place Loyola. The 1F was rowed by David Ruf, Alex Owen, Andrew Stonnington, Dabreon Darby, Kyle Shtern, Ryan McSherry, Grant Accurso, Gunnar Vorwerk, and was coxed by Nicole Finan.
Bucknell would enter two fours into the Varsity Four category. The “B” four would finish 4th in their heat, almost managing to sprint through 3rd place Stony Brook. The “A” four was caught on the line by Loyola, but still advanced to the final based on time. In the final the “A” four could not find a rhythm and would finish in 6th place. The “A” boat was rowed by Pat Long ’18, Nate Coffin ’16, Christian Daugherty ’18, James Koenigsberg ’18, and was coxed by Emilee Bae ’17. The “B” boat was rowed by Mike Birosak ’18, Ryan Wang ’19, Nick Huang ’19, Nick Paray ’19, and was coxed by Henry Leonardi ’18.
The Freshmen four was the final boat entered. The frosh cruised to an easy victory in their heat, but rowed an identical time to Lafayette in the other heat, promising a great show down in the final. As expected, the race came down to the line. Bucknell had surged out to a half-length lead with about 200 meters to go, but Lafayette came charging back. Holding level, both boats refused to give in, and actually raced 15 strokes past the line before realizing the race had ended. Bucknell would come out on top, winning by less than half a second. The frosh 4 was rowed by Gary Tse, Chris Bowdler, Jacopo Baldi, Andrew Carstensen, and was coxed by Robert Bellantoni.
Due to victories in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, Freshmen Eight, Freshmen Four, and a 6th place finish in the Varsity Four, Bucknell also clinched the Men’s Point trophy for the day, ahead of second place Washington College, and third place George Mason. This marked a successful beginning to the next month of championship regattas for Bucknell.
The Bucknell men will race next weekend, on Sunday, May 7th at the National Invitational Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. We hope to see you all there!