FELLSMERE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern rowing team ended its fall season on a high note Saturday, with the varsity-8 winning the FIRA Fall Classic.
The eight boat finished with a time of 13:11 to take the win. The Sharks took down Barry for the first time this season in the V8 race, winning by seven seconds. NSU also defeated Jacksonville, Florida and Florida Tech. NSU also put forth a B boat, which finished in fifth place with a time of 14:09.
"I am happy with how the team committed to this race today," said head coach
Stephen Frazier-Wong. "We have had some key injuries this fall so I'm extremely proud of how we came together as a team and stepped up to this challenge. Hopefully we'll be at full strength in the spring when the results really matter, but for now I think this is a good note upon which to end the fall season. We have four months of hard training ahead of us before our next race so we'll use this good memory to sustain us through the long hours."
NSU's winning boat consisted of: coxswain
Courtney Berger (Sr., Sarasota, Fla.),
Stephanie Hauck (Sr., Somers Point, N.J.),
Kelly Scott (Jr., Hobe Sound, Fla.),
Kristen Page (Fr., San Diego, Calif.),
Megan O'Donnell (Jr., Lake Worth, Fla.),
Tori Torrisi (So., Saratoga, N.Y.),
Emily Harrington (Sr., Virginia Beach, Fla.),
Caitlin Mooney (Sr., Centerville, Mass.) and
Bethany Warlich (Fr., Leeds Point, N.J.).
"Fall FIRA is always an exciting time for our team because it marks the end and the beginning of something great," stated Berger. "You could feel the anticipation in the air this morning and lining up next to all of the other Florida teams just got everyone in the spirit of rowing. We knew that when our name was called by the official, that meant it was time to leave it all out on the water, and that is exactly what we did. The conditions weren't ideal, but overcoming adversity is one of this team's strong points. We have a lot of trust and belief in one another's abilities and everyone gave every ounce of power they had today, and that truly shows in the results."
The B boat was made up of: coxswain
Amanda Hudon (So., Sebastian, Fla.),
Adrianna Rosario (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.),
Cassily Lobaugh (Fr., Milton, Ga.),
Kelsey Obringer (Jr., Port Republic, N.J.),
Daesha Roberts (Fr., Yulee, Fla.),
Falon Irwin (Fr., Galloway, N.J.),
Abbey Schiavo (Sr., Northfield, N.J.),
Erin Black (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) and
Julianna Jaycox (Fr., Oakdale, N.Y.).
The varsity-4 boat came in second place on the day, finishing with a time of 14:18. Barry took the win, defeating NSU in the V4 for the first time this fall. NSU was 22 seconds faster than Jacksonville's third-place crew. NSU's B and C boats came in fourth and fifth, both defeating the top boats from Rollins and Florida Tech.
The second-place A boat was made up of: coxswain Berger, O'Donnell, Hauck, Scott, Torrisi. The B boat held:
Sarah Erickson (Jr., Sunrise, Fla.),
Kristen Page (Fr., San Diego, Calif.), Warlich, Mooney and Harrington. Finally, the C boat held: Hudon, Rosario, Lobaugh, Irwin and Obringer.
"I'm so proud of our team," said Hauck. "Knowing that this was our last race for the fall, we were all on the same page as far as how hard we were going to push ourselves and what we wanted to accomplish. The novices also handled their first race really well, and we're all excited to see them progress. As far as the V8 race, it was so incredible to sit in the stroke seat and feel my teammates behind me hammer through the race together. We're all prepared to get some solid winter training in knowing that our competition is working hard, too."
The Sharks also competed in the freshman/novice-8 race and took third place with a time of 16:03. That boat was made up of: coxswain Hannah DiLorenzo, Rebecca Bergen, Roberts, Black, Maya Horsford, Alanna Wildman, Stephanie Lipari, Marie Hanft and Jaycox.
Stay tuned to NSUSharks.com this winter for the release of the spring rowing schedule.
For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit
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