PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Marietta College men's rowing team competed in the 52nd annual Kerr Cup Regatta on the historic Schuylkill River Saturday (April 14). The Pioneers raced in the varsity 8+ and second varsity 8+ divisions.
First on the water in the morning heat was the Pioneers' varsity 8+ crew. Marietta finished third in its heat advancing into the semifinals. Drexel won the heat with a time of 6:27.54 on the 2,000-meter course. West Point crossed the line in 6:29.24 followed by Marietta (6:31.35), Bucknell (6:32.57), Rutgers (6:43.33) and La Salle (7:01.53).
Marietta's varsity 8+ lineup included coxswain
Chrissy Billingsley (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta),
Angelo Leitner-Wise (Alexandria, Va./TC Williams) in the stroke position,
William Hooper (Reston, Va./Tabor Academy),
Michael Shrader (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence),
Scott Cressman (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge),
Brooks Spires (Sebastian, Fla./Sebastian River),
George Riffle (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma),
Evan Odom (Vista, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) and
Ethan Schafhausen (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central) in the bow seat.
The Pioneers struggled in the semis and finished sixth landing a spot in the Petite Final. Virginia won the semi in 6:20.70 followed by Drexel (6:22.76), Marist (6:24.80), Colgate (6:25.97), UC San Diego (6:30.85) and Marietta (6:54.05).
The Navy Blue and White trimmed 22 seconds off its semifinal time and placed fourth in the Petite Final. Colgate was first across the line posting a time of 6:23.20. UC San Diego was three seconds behind finishing in 6:26.07 with West Point (6:29.17), Marietta (6:31.62), Delaware (6:33.13) and Boston College (6:38.58) rounding out the field.
In the second varsity 8+ morning heat Marietta finished fifth and failed to advance. St. Josephs won the heat posting a time of 6:36.87 followed by Gonzaga (6:42.88), Marist (6:46.57), Lehigh (6:54.13) and Marietta (7:04.71).
MC's second varsity 8+ lineup featured coxswain
Georgia Majka (Ocean View, N.J./Ocean City),
Chris Metz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) at stroke,
Joe Tucker (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern),
William Rafferty (Moorestown, N.J./),
Martin Hall (Toney, Ala./Home Schooled),
Josh Loudon (Streetsboro, Ohio/),
Robert Sandman (),
Cameron Short (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and
Samuel Rojas (Bronx, N.Y./) in the bow.
Marietta is back in action this Saturday and Sunday (April 21-22) at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
