Drexel University Athletics
Drexel's men's pair found itself alone near the finish line as the boat won its preliminary heat by more than 19 seconds (Photo: Jamie Lindsay)
Huge First Day Puts Drexel Crew on Path to Dad Vail Finals, Medals
5/7/2010 5:45:37 PM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
Philadelphia - Drexel Crew opened the Dad Vail Regatta with stunning results as the Dragons sent nine of their 10 registered boats to semifinals or finals action on Saturday, May 8. During the first day at the nation's biggest collegiate regatta, a Drexel boat went to the starting line 11 times and on six occasions a Drexel boat crossed the line in first place. Drexel's men's varsity four, men's pair, men's second varsity eight and men's novice eight all won their preliminary heats while on the women's side, the women's varsity eight took first place to advance to Saturday's semi-finals. Also moving to semifinal action after solid performances are the men's varsity eight, the women's second varsity eight, the women's varsity four and the women's novice eight.
The big day started as the Tobey and Kim Oxholm boat holding the men's varsity four with coxswain Michelle Lehmann, stroke Michael Gartland, Peter Eyrich, Kevin Rorabaugh and bow Brennan Haydon defeated Northwestern, Oklahoma City, Lehigh, Catholic and John Carroll. The Dragons' winning time of 6:49.807 was better than four seconds faster than second-place Catholic and sent the boat to the semifinals where it will race out of the second lane against Vermont, Philadelphia University, Dayton, Temple and William & Mary. The top two finishers will advance to the grand finals.
In one of the most thrilling finishes for a Drexel boat on the day, the women's varsity four in the Sandra Lee Sheller with coxswain Caitlin Meehan, stroke Brooke Wertan, Brianna Simmers, Jill Skovran and bow Chloe Swansen took the final qualifying position out of the heat. Drexel edged Fairfield for third place by just 0.320 seconds to move the boat to Saturday's semifinals. The Sandra Lee Sheller will race in lane six against Duquesne, Marquette, Lafayette, Robert Morris and North Carolina as the top two boats earn spots in the grand finals.
Drexel's men's varsity pair put forth a truly dominating performance in its preliminary heat with Liam O'Neill at stroke and Pete Schmidt in bow. The duo crushed Marquette, Loyola, Lafayette, Grand Valley and Milwaukee from lane three as the Dragons finished more than 19 seconds ahead of any other school and registered the fastest time of any men's pair in any qualifying heat at this year's Dad Vail with a 6:56.884. The performance gave the boat the advantageous lane three for its semifinal where the Dragons will face Oklahoma City, Stetson, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Minnesota where the top two finishers move to the grand finals.
The Drexel men's varsity eight boat with coxswain Randall Lee, stroke Aleksander Radovic, Kyle Fabel, Anthony Fittipaldi, Greg Pierce, Brian Timlin, Will Masters, Nick Buyse and bow Jake Sloan faced a tough heat that included Delaware, Brock, Temple, Georgia Tech and Villanova. Drexel took fourth place as the Dragons were forced to qualify for the semifinal by way of a repechage race. The Dragons were up to the task, however, as the boat delivered a victory by more than four seconds over second-place Florida to reserve its spot in a Saturday semifinal. The Drexel men's varsity eight will row in lane one against Brock, Florida Tech, Purdue, Marietta and Saint Joseph's with the top two moving on the grand finals and the next top two finishers earning a spot in the petite finals.
The women's varsity eight with coxswain Cate Khella, stroke Candice Webb, Dana Haneman, Julia Jackson, Mallory Sykes, Juliana DeMarici, Emily Coyle, Cassie Clawson and bow Mary Kain showed that its No. 5 seed was warranted with a strong opening round performance. Drexel won by more than five seconds with a time of 6:47.950 over second-place San Diego State and also defeated Vermont, La Salle, Old Dominion and Oklahoma City. The win sets up a semifinal showdown with CAA-rival Buffalo as well as Vermont, North Carolina, Fordham and Ohio State as the six boats will battle for two grand finals berths. The third and fourth place finishers move to the petite finals. Drexel will be rowing out of lane four.
The men's freshman four in the Dawn Byers boat barely missed out on qualifying for Saturday's semifinals as coxswain Matt Weston, stroke Nick Jensen, Dylan Siegfried, John Luciani and bow Corey Barnes finished third with a time of 7:24.451 but only the top two boats advanced from each heat.
Drexel's men's freshman eight in the Vince Vidas boat with coxswain Justin Malley, stroke Kurt Linton, Adam Cordi, Tim Drake, Rylan Treffinger, John Kile, Kam Palagi, Zach Antunes and bow Paul Wisniowski returned the Dragons to their winning ways with a first-place finish. The boat topped Washington College, Pittsburgh, Delaware and Penn State, each by more than 11 seconds. In lane four, Drexel will face Army, Michigan, Saint Joseph's, Virginia and Washington College in a semifinal with the top three boats advancing to the grand finals.
The women's freshman eight in the John A. Daskalakis with coxswain Mary Beth Geyer, stroke Amanda Dargay, Elise Panacek, Leila Aboharb, Lillian Reed, Brogan Piecara, Mairin McKinlay, Kathie Cheng and bow Danielle Frigerio locked up a semifinal spot by taking second place in its opening heat with a time of 8:00.554. Saint Joseph's took first place but the Dragons topped UMass, Liberty and Binghamton to move to Saturday's semifinal against Fordham, UConn, Delaware and Lafayette with the top two moving to the grand finals.
The Drexel men's second varsity eight won its heat with ease as the Annette Pennoni with coxswain Steve Matyas, stroke Filip Topalovic, Gregg Francis, Marty Khait, Chris Hillenbrand, Ernesto Del Valle, Lorenzo Albala, Michael Golden and bow Pat McGann topped second place Virginia by more than seven seconds. The boat also defeated Emory, Georgia Tech, and Army with a time of 6:28.711. The victory sent the boat straight to the grand finals where Drexel will face Jacksonville, Virginia, Temple, Marietta and Emory for the Ernie Bayer Trophy as the Dad Vail second varsity eight championship.
The women's second varsity eight capped the day for Drexel with another fine performance as the Marlene Buckley with coxswain Alex Paulin, stroke Natasha Martines, Mollie Cusack, Alexa Antonioli, Jami Ruane, Colleen Owens, Samantha Cowan, Megan Bush and bow Asiya Mahmud took second place in a close finish that saw the top three finishers cross within 2.1 seconds of each other. Delaware took the heat but Drexel's time of 7:18.562 bested Purdue, Marist and Villanova. The boat's next race will be against North Carolina, Old Dominion, Buffalo, San Diego State and Vermont in a semifinal race that will send its top three finishers to the grand finals.
Live streaming video and commentary are available throughout the 2010 Dad Vail Regatta by visiting dadvail.tv.
The big day started as the Tobey and Kim Oxholm boat holding the men's varsity four with coxswain Michelle Lehmann, stroke Michael Gartland, Peter Eyrich, Kevin Rorabaugh and bow Brennan Haydon defeated Northwestern, Oklahoma City, Lehigh, Catholic and John Carroll. The Dragons' winning time of 6:49.807 was better than four seconds faster than second-place Catholic and sent the boat to the semifinals where it will race out of the second lane against Vermont, Philadelphia University, Dayton, Temple and William & Mary. The top two finishers will advance to the grand finals.
In one of the most thrilling finishes for a Drexel boat on the day, the women's varsity four in the Sandra Lee Sheller with coxswain Caitlin Meehan, stroke Brooke Wertan, Brianna Simmers, Jill Skovran and bow Chloe Swansen took the final qualifying position out of the heat. Drexel edged Fairfield for third place by just 0.320 seconds to move the boat to Saturday's semifinals. The Sandra Lee Sheller will race in lane six against Duquesne, Marquette, Lafayette, Robert Morris and North Carolina as the top two boats earn spots in the grand finals.
Drexel's men's varsity pair put forth a truly dominating performance in its preliminary heat with Liam O'Neill at stroke and Pete Schmidt in bow. The duo crushed Marquette, Loyola, Lafayette, Grand Valley and Milwaukee from lane three as the Dragons finished more than 19 seconds ahead of any other school and registered the fastest time of any men's pair in any qualifying heat at this year's Dad Vail with a 6:56.884. The performance gave the boat the advantageous lane three for its semifinal where the Dragons will face Oklahoma City, Stetson, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Minnesota where the top two finishers move to the grand finals.
The Drexel men's varsity eight boat with coxswain Randall Lee, stroke Aleksander Radovic, Kyle Fabel, Anthony Fittipaldi, Greg Pierce, Brian Timlin, Will Masters, Nick Buyse and bow Jake Sloan faced a tough heat that included Delaware, Brock, Temple, Georgia Tech and Villanova. Drexel took fourth place as the Dragons were forced to qualify for the semifinal by way of a repechage race. The Dragons were up to the task, however, as the boat delivered a victory by more than four seconds over second-place Florida to reserve its spot in a Saturday semifinal. The Drexel men's varsity eight will row in lane one against Brock, Florida Tech, Purdue, Marietta and Saint Joseph's with the top two moving on the grand finals and the next top two finishers earning a spot in the petite finals.
The women's varsity eight with coxswain Cate Khella, stroke Candice Webb, Dana Haneman, Julia Jackson, Mallory Sykes, Juliana DeMarici, Emily Coyle, Cassie Clawson and bow Mary Kain showed that its No. 5 seed was warranted with a strong opening round performance. Drexel won by more than five seconds with a time of 6:47.950 over second-place San Diego State and also defeated Vermont, La Salle, Old Dominion and Oklahoma City. The win sets up a semifinal showdown with CAA-rival Buffalo as well as Vermont, North Carolina, Fordham and Ohio State as the six boats will battle for two grand finals berths. The third and fourth place finishers move to the petite finals. Drexel will be rowing out of lane four.
The men's freshman four in the Dawn Byers boat barely missed out on qualifying for Saturday's semifinals as coxswain Matt Weston, stroke Nick Jensen, Dylan Siegfried, John Luciani and bow Corey Barnes finished third with a time of 7:24.451 but only the top two boats advanced from each heat.
Drexel's men's freshman eight in the Vince Vidas boat with coxswain Justin Malley, stroke Kurt Linton, Adam Cordi, Tim Drake, Rylan Treffinger, John Kile, Kam Palagi, Zach Antunes and bow Paul Wisniowski returned the Dragons to their winning ways with a first-place finish. The boat topped Washington College, Pittsburgh, Delaware and Penn State, each by more than 11 seconds. In lane four, Drexel will face Army, Michigan, Saint Joseph's, Virginia and Washington College in a semifinal with the top three boats advancing to the grand finals.
The women's freshman eight in the John A. Daskalakis with coxswain Mary Beth Geyer, stroke Amanda Dargay, Elise Panacek, Leila Aboharb, Lillian Reed, Brogan Piecara, Mairin McKinlay, Kathie Cheng and bow Danielle Frigerio locked up a semifinal spot by taking second place in its opening heat with a time of 8:00.554. Saint Joseph's took first place but the Dragons topped UMass, Liberty and Binghamton to move to Saturday's semifinal against Fordham, UConn, Delaware and Lafayette with the top two moving to the grand finals.
The Drexel men's second varsity eight won its heat with ease as the Annette Pennoni with coxswain Steve Matyas, stroke Filip Topalovic, Gregg Francis, Marty Khait, Chris Hillenbrand, Ernesto Del Valle, Lorenzo Albala, Michael Golden and bow Pat McGann topped second place Virginia by more than seven seconds. The boat also defeated Emory, Georgia Tech, and Army with a time of 6:28.711. The victory sent the boat straight to the grand finals where Drexel will face Jacksonville, Virginia, Temple, Marietta and Emory for the Ernie Bayer Trophy as the Dad Vail second varsity eight championship.
The women's second varsity eight capped the day for Drexel with another fine performance as the Marlene Buckley with coxswain Alex Paulin, stroke Natasha Martines, Mollie Cusack, Alexa Antonioli, Jami Ruane, Colleen Owens, Samantha Cowan, Megan Bush and bow Asiya Mahmud took second place in a close finish that saw the top three finishers cross within 2.1 seconds of each other. Delaware took the heat but Drexel's time of 7:18.562 bested Purdue, Marist and Villanova. The boat's next race will be against North Carolina, Old Dominion, Buffalo, San Diego State and Vermont in a semifinal race that will send its top three finishers to the grand finals.
Live streaming video and commentary are available throughout the 2010 Dad Vail Regatta by visiting dadvail.tv.
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