OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The Marietta College men's rowing team entered two eight-man shells at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships Saturday (April 21).
The varsity 8+ crew had the seventh fastest time in the morning time trials, Marietta then placed second in the afternoon semifinals earning a place in Sunday's "A" Final.
Florida tech turned in the fastest time in the time trial crossing the line in 5:09.751. Virginia was second with a 5:10.440 followed by North Carolina (5:14.300. Marietta's morning time was 5:22.462.
Florida Tech beat the Pioneers to the finish line in the semifinal. The Panthers posted a time of 5:58.013 ahead of Marietta's 6:01.225. The two crews will face each other again in the finals on Sunday at noon.
Notre Dame was third with a time of 6:04.377 followed by Florida (6:14.377), Georgia (6:16.637) and Colorado (6:44.217).
The Pioneers' varsity 8+ lineup featured 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.
Marietta's junior varsity 8+ entry had the 13th fastest time in the morning time trial. Virginia posted the best time with a 5:21.737, followed by Florida tech (5:22.587) and Jacksonville (5:27.447). Marietta finished in 5:47.486 and advanced into the "C" Final in the afternoon.
The "C" Final was a two-boat duel between Marietta and Florida. The Gators won the battle with a time of 6:38.297, while the Pioneers finished in 6:40.397.
Marietta's lineup included coxswain
Eli Egyed (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland),
Chris Metz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) in the stroke seat,
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.
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.
