2004-2005 Stories

SAINTS RACE WELL AT STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

May 2: The Men's Crew team posted their best showing ever at the New York State Championships in Whitney Point, N.Y. this weekend.

The Novice Men's 8+ finished fourth in their heat but by under a second to RIT. They then finished took first in the petite final by open water over Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, and Rensselaer.

The Varsity Men's 8+ finished fifth in their heat, five seconds behind Ithaca. They then finished second in the petite finals, coming in just behind Buffalo, but ahead of Rensselaer and Albany.

The 8s races were very fast as lots of crews did not enter them, instead entering 4s, so the speed was very condensed.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS CANCELLED

Apr. 23: The 2005 Liberty League Crew Championships have been cancelled due to unsafe conditions on the course on the St. Lawrence River in Waddington, N.Y. U.S. Rowing officials declared the course unsafe due to wind and rough water. The regatta will not be rescheduled and no league championship will be awarded this season.

VARSITY 8 BOAT EARNS LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORS

Apr. 18: On Monday afternoon, the men's varsity 8 boat was named the Liberty League Co-Boat of the Week. With wins over Union and Hamilton this weekend, the Varsity 8 boat has won three consecutive races. On Saturday, the won in 6:20, five seconds over the Union boat. On Sunday against Hamilton on the Erie Canal, the boat won in 6:22.66 4.42 over Hamilton.

The Saints will hit the water again this weekend on Saturday, April 23 as St. Lawrence hosts the 2005 Liberty League Crew Championships in Waddington, N.Y. Competition begins at 8:30 a.m.

VARSITY 8 SWEEPS WEEKEND

Apr. 18 – The Saints Varsity 8+ raced to a five second victory over Union on the Mohawk River where there was a floating start head current, flat water, and no wind on Saturday. On Sunday, the Varsity 8+ won by 4:42 over Hamilton on the Erie Canal . The Varsity 8+ came in at 6:20 with Union finishing at 6:25 on Saturday. On Sunday, the Saints finished in 6:22.66 with Hamilton finishing in 6:27.08.

The Novice 8+ also won, in 17 seconds over Union , finishing in 6:31 . Against Hamilton on Sunday, the Continentals won in the Varsity 4. The Saints Varsity 4 finished at 7:08.79, behind Hamilton ’s time of 7:03.56. The Novice 4 “A” boat clocked in at 7:02.71, besting Hamilton by 18:36 which finished at 7:21.07. The Novice “B” boat came in third at 7:23.41.

SAINT CREW TEAMS SWEEP RPI

Apr. 9: St. Lawrence University’s Mens and Womens Crew opened the spring season with a complete sweep of R.P.I.

The race was held on the same course where the Liberty League Championships will be held on April 23. There was no wind, flat water, and a strong tail current.

The Varsity Women’s 8+ open the day with a 3 second victory. St. Lawrence took the lead off the start and maintained the lead throughout the race.

The Varsity Men’s 8+ defeated a strong boat from RPI by 2 seconds. These crews were close competitors all fall, but the Saints opened up a boat length lead by the 750m mark and maintained that lead the rest of the way.

The Novice Men’s 8+ scored an impressive victory in their first sprint race with an 11 second win over RPI. Again, St. Lawrence took the lead early and systematically expanded upon that lead throughout the race.

The Novice Women’s 8+ and 4+ also took first; Both the 8+ and 4+ opened up a substantial leads by the 1000m mark and won comfortably. The 8+ won by 14 seconds and the 4+ by 16 seconds.

The rowing Saints return to action next weekend with a Saturday race v. Union at Union College Boathouse in Schenectady, NY and Sunday v. Hamilton at the Hamilton College Boathouse in Rome, NY.

FOUR SENIORS NAMED TO LIBERTY LEAGUE ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

Four seniors named to Liberty League All-Academic Team for performance in the classroom. The team is selceted by earning a cumulative 3.2 GPA. They include Benjamin Franco with a Government major, John Sharkey, Math and Economics double major, Sean Buturla, Biochemistry major and Douglas Smith with a Neuro-Science major.

STRONG SHOWING FOR VARSITY FOUR AT HEAD OF THE CHARLES

Oct. 23: Four seniors represented St. Lawrence University at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA this past weekend. The Saints' made a strong showing, placing 19th out of 43 boats, and 5th of D III crews.

In the boat were seniors John Sharkey, Doug Smith, Taylor Couevas, and Ben Franco. The coxswain was junior Diane Peters.

"The boat really had a nice piece out there, especially with the limited water time they had together as a boat.", said assistant coach George Repicky. "It was nice for them to come off the water pleased with how they rowed."

The Saints' will wrap up their season this weekend at Head of the Fish.

SAINTS GOOD IN SPRINT RACE, CAN'T MAKE UP GROUND AT STONEHURST

Oct. 10: The Saints' varsity men competed at the prestigious Stonehurst Invitational in Rochester, NY on Saturday. This regatta features some of the finest crews in America, including Eastern Sprint schools Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Yale and Syracuse University.

The regatta offers crews two races: a morning head piece and an afternoon sprint race. After a morning head pierce plagued with problems on the course, the Saints were in 13th place. Despite a good sprint race, the Saints were unable to improve their end rank.

The varsity men's eight consisted of seniors John Sharkey, Doug Smith, Taylor Cuerovas, Ben Franco, junior coxswain Diane Peters, sophomores Jamie O'Donnell and Jake Shea and freshman Kit Wright and Kirk Matafey.

"It was a bit disappointing to have a few technical problems detract from what was a pretty good head race in the morning, but with each row things are coming together, and it promises to be a very fast spring," said assistant coach George Repicky.

The Saints return to action at the Head of the Charles on Oct. 23-24.

MEN'S CREW TEAMS OPEN FALL SEASON WITH SOLID FINISHES

Oct. 4: St. Lawrence University's men's crew team got off to a strong start to the 2004 fall season with good performances at both the Head of the Mohawk and Head of the Erie races Saturday and Sunday.

In Saturday races at the head of the Mohawk, the Saints swept the men's 8+ events with both the Novice 8 and the Varsity 8 taking home cups. The Novice boat was unopposed and raced in the Varsity 8 event. The Varsity 8 A boat defeated Liberty League rival Skidmore by 53 seconds with the Novice 8 finishing third, just 28 seconds off the time of Skidmore's varsity boat. The Varsity 8 won the Schenectady Mayor's Cup and the Novice men won the Mohawk Challenge Cup.

In Sunday racing at the Head of the Erie, the Novice men were second to Division I Colgate while the Varsity 8 was third, beating Liberty League rival Hamilton and trailing Colgate and Ithaca.

"The varsity crews have some ground to make up on the folks at Ithaca and Colgate," said Saint coach Nick Hughes. "We're determined to work hard between now and the spring season to close the gap and establish ourselves as one of the premiere rowing programs in the state.

"Our races at the Head of the Mohawk were very encouraging for this early part of the season," Hughes added. "I think we have established that we will be a force to be reckoned with in our league."

John Sharkey, Doug Smith, coaches Hughes and George Repicky combined with Varsity 8 women Diane Peters, Kathleen Oscadel, Emilie Fox and Chelsea Isdell for a Mixed Eight team which won the "I Love My Heart" Cup by a full minute in front of Skidmore at the Head of the Mohawk.