Varsity Rowing - Manhattan Invitational Results

 

Kings Point Rowing

VICTORY ON THE HARLEM RIVER

    Manhattan Invitational – April 27, 2010

 

Kings Point Rowers began the season with two victories and a second place in the Manhattan Invitational on Saturday.  The gold was in the Freshman Men’s Four and Men’s Varsity Four while the Women’s Four finished a very close second.  

 

The Women’s Pair of Anna Simons ‘12 and Kacey Rohloff ’12 as well as the Men’s Pair of Connan Ingham ’12 and Chas Waters ’10 were set to kick off the spring season but the Harlem River had different plans. Some early morning winds and strong currents created conditions that made the Harlem River dangerous for the Pairs and prevented the crews from getting to the starting line. “We were really looking forward to the first race in the Pair; we at least got a chance to try the team’s new boat. Even in the big waves we can tell that it is a fast boat” said Rohloff.

 

The Men’s freshman crew of Coxswain David Wong ’13, Stroke- Brendan Rohr’13, 3-Brad Wood ’13, 2-Dustin Downing ’13, and Bow-Garrett Poncin ’13 rowed easily to victory over Manhattan with nearly a minute to spare and in the time of 7:16. Even the Manhattan Coach said that “I knew the race over when Kings Point took the lead with a strong first twenty strokes and never let up for the remainder of the race.”  The crew is comprised entirely of first year rowers and will continue to compete in the freshman category throughout the spring season. Coach Hartwick was optimistic about the crews’ chances for the spring; “I think this early show of strength demonstrates that this year’s freshman class has the potential to match last year’s freshman crew that finished fifth in the nation amongst 42 competitors.”

 

With only two practices at the helm as a coxswain, Freshman Gregory Acker led the Men’s Varsity Four to a convincing victory over Manhattan. The Kings Point crew of Coxswain Gregory Acker ’13, Stoke Grey Gambill ’12, 3-Frank Osborne ’12, 2-Sam Diedrick ’10, and Bow- Kyle O’Connor ’10 easily took an early lead. Convinced of their ability to win, the crew lowered the stoke rate through the middle of the race and powered to the finish line in style and a very fast time of 6:54 especially considering the conditions.  “They had a good first race of the season and Greg did a great job in his first race. We have really good depth on the Varsity team this spring with this four in addition to the Pair of Ingham and Waters and Steven Jones who was away for the weekend.” commented Coach Hartwick. 

 

With one more victory in the Women’s Varsity Four, Kings Point would have swept the regatta. The crew of Coxswain David Wong ’13, Stroke Anna Simons, 3-Kacey Rohloff, 2-Christie Gallo, and Bow-Jessica Willey were just fifteen feet back at the finish line and was narrowly denied victory. The crew started conservatively and was down three-quarters of a boat length after the start but steadily came back to even by the 1000 meter mark. At the 1500 mark, Kings Point had taken the lead when a Coast Guard vessel passed; the waves caused the Kings Pointers to lose a few strokes and their momentum. Manhattan was able to take and hold a small lead to the finish line, posting  a time of 7:04 to the Mariner’s time of 7:05.5. 

 

The team travels to Philadelphia on April 3 to compete in the Murphy Cup Regatta. The team will meet stiff competition as more than thirty of the strongest teams from the northeast will be vying for top honors.