Oct. 23, 2007

BOSTON, MA - Under sunny skies and ideal rowing conditions, the Saint Joseph's men's rowing team turned in two solid performances at the 2007 Head of Charles Regatta on Sunday, October 21.

A young composite boat of freshmen and varsity lightweight oarsmen started the day for the Hawks rowing a solid rhythm and aggressive race from the 27th starting position. The inexperienced Hawk boat, which featured five freshmen, managed to steer its way through traffic and pass Harvard and Marquette. The Hawks then finished 20th out of an international field of 28 shells, and were 14th out of the 21 collegiate entries in the event.

In the Championship 8 event, the Hawks' Varsity 8 also managed to pass two crews during the three-mile race down the Charles River. In the first mile of the race the Hawks found their pace quickly and charged on the field passing a boat of Yale Alumni. Going into the first major turn of the race at Weeks Bridge, the Hawks had caught Trinity College and were preparing to pass them when the Trinity coxswain did not yield and caused a clash of oars, disrupting the strong rhythm of the SJU shell. Coming out of the crash SJU struggled to re-establish the boat speed, and consequently lost ground to the field. The Hawks finished 29th in the 44-crew field, and 19th among the 31 college entries in the event.

Head Coach Drew Hill was pleased with the Hawks' effort. "The Varsity 8 demonstrated some real speed by moving right with the top collegiate crews through the first checkpoint, and right up until their crash. I am excited about what these guys can do as we continue to make progress as a crew."

Regarding the Lightweight 8 Hill added, "They did a great job considering the five freshmen that were in the shell and the fact that they practiced together for only three days in that line-up. We were the second highest finisher among the Dad Vail schools which raced."

The Hawks will be back in action this weekend on their home course at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, on October 26 beginning at 11:00 a.m.

SJU LINE-UPS:

Championship 8: Cx. Ryan Pawling, 8. Gavin Adams, 7. Tim Strybuck, 6. Glenn Griffin, 5. Sean King, 4. Jordan Marwin, 3. Kevin Burrows, 2. Marc Mallott, 1. Adam Stoll

Lightweight 8: Cx. Paul Leggeri, 8. Adam Iaccio, 7. Kevin Jacobs, 6. Mike Gibel, 5. Mike Wingrove, 4. Chase Powell, 3. Steve Dutcher, 2. Conor Malone, 1. Bryce Cross