Manhattan Invitational Regatta – April 5, 2008

Kings Point Rowing
United States Merchant Marine Academy
Manhattan Invitational Regatta – April 5, 2008
Team results

Kings Point Rowing took home a gold and silver in the Manhattan Invitational Regatta which is attended by the strongest local teams. Battling for local honors was host team Manhattan College as well as Iona College, SUNY Maritime, Fordham University, Hofstra, and Sarah Lawrence.
Taking top honors in the Women’s Pair event were Meagan Fahey ’08 and Erin Mitchell ’08. Building on the fine performance of last week in the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia this dynamic duo dominated the field as they bested the field by nearly a minute. While having some difficulty with their course in the early parts of the race; complicated by the fast moving current of the Harlem river, the crew finally settled in, and continued to distance itself throughout the 2000 meter course. “They rowed so strongly and looked so consistent throughout the race, it was really terrific” said Coach Derek Hartwick after the race. This crew will meet its greatest challenge next week when it vies for medals in the highly competitive Knecht Cup Regatta.
Continuing with the strong performances in the Pairs was the crew of Steven Jones ’10, and Kyle O’Connor ’10. Not having raced in the pair prior to this race, the crew had some difficulty with steering. The Pair does not have a coxswain to steer the shell down the racecourse, therefore the rower sitting in the Bow seat must use a foot pedal to steer the crew down the course. “We probably rowed 200 meters longer then we had to”, said Bowman Kyle O’Connor. Despite the inexperience of racing in this event, the crew was able to stay with Hofstra till the last 500 meters. Hofstra was able to bring up the stroke rate and lead the Mariners by only 2 seconds at the finish line. Competing in the Men’s Pair also was the duo of Ricky Lagdon ’08 and Sam Diedrick ’10. Despite their great effort and strength, they fell to fourth despite having held 3rd throughout the first half of the race. Again, this crew’s inexperience in the pair got the better of them as the steering made it difficult for the crew to row a straight course and finish in the top three.

The Men’s Novice Four made great strides this week as it competed for the first time and had a strong performance despite not making the final. With one of the crew members, Andrew Pfarner ’11 only having started rowing three weeks ago, the crew had a great row and was excited about the prospects for the rest of the season. Following the race, Pfarner reminded Coach Hartwick that he had actually “only rowed three full practices on the water prior to this race” since the training conditions during the last two weeks at Kings Point have been very rough. The crew of Coxswain Robert Kaldenbach Stroke-Andrew Pfarner, 3-Scott Norris, 2-Tyler Hathcote ’10, and Bow-Romulus Cirone ’10 will meet stiff competition next week but they seemed ‘spirited’ following yesterdays competition and ready for the challenge.

Just one hour after battling in the Men’s Pair event, the men’s varsity combined forces to compete in the Varsity Four event. The crew of Coxswain Robert Kaldenbach Stroke-Jeremy Tunstall ‘10, 3-Sam Diedrick ‘10, 2-Steven Jones ’10, and Bow-Kyle O’Connor ’10, seemed a bit fatiqued and sluggish as they raced their heat in a effort to make the final. “Rowing 2000 meters against a very strong current early in the morning against good competition took a bit out of them; the competition were much more rested then our guys and we were unable to match their speed.” commented Coach Hartwick. In the early part of the season the team will often race more than one event to gain racing experience. The Varsity Men’s will attempt to recapture the cup in the Division II/III event next week at the Knecht Cup. It has been two years since it won that race and the team will focus on that throughout this week.

Although the Women’s Novice Four experienced a setback this week with the injury of one of their rowers; two of the crew members, Molly King ’11 and Janelle Kibler-Silengo rose to the challenge of racing in the Varsity Women’s four event with seniors Fahey and Mitchell. “Despite having to switch sides; port to starboard, Molly switched flawlessly and Janelle was very strong despite only have learned to row three weeks ago. They truly rowed like varsity rowers,” said Coach Hartwick. The crew stayed with the pack for the first 500 meters and then still held the eventual fourth crew until the 1750 meter mark. This was the second race for the pair of Fahey and Mitchell. The crew of Coxswain Robert Kaldenbach, Stoke Meagan Fahey, Erin Mitchell, Janelle Kibler-Silengo ‘ 11, and Molly King ’11 finished fifth, only 3 seconds from fourth place Manhattan College.



Women’s Pair
Time: Not recorded
1st USMMA
2nd Iona
3rd SUNY

Men’s Pair
Winning Time: 9:15
1st Hofstra
2nd USMMA
3rd SUNY
4th USMMA

Men’s Varsity Four
Winning Time: 7:32
1st Iona
2nd Fordham
3rd USMMA.

Men’s Novice Four
Winning Time: 7:07
1st Iona
2nd SUNY
3rd USMMA

Women’s Varsity Four
Winning Time: 6:40
1st Hofstra
2nd Sarah Lawrence
3rd Iona
4th Manhattan
5th USMMA
6th Sarah Lawrence