POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist Men's Rowing was already enjoying a solid academic year before the spring season got underway.
The Red Foxes received a new shell in a dedication at the Second Annual Alumni Rowing Day back in September. On the water, they concluded a fall slate where the Collegiate 8 placed second in the Head of the Charles, 12 boats finishing inside the top 10 at the Head of the Fish. The winter brought a productive training trip in DeLand, Florida, the new McCann Center grand opening, and intense competition in the boathouse for Connor's Erg Challenge.
Each event set the stage for what Marist hoped to be a season that ended stronger than the 2019 edition. However, the COVID-19 outbreak halted the momentum of the 2019-20 year days before the spring training trip started in Clemson, South Carolina.
The story for the 2020 men's rowing team and its seniors was one of redemption. That's not to say that 2019 wasn't full of accomplishments: All three of Marist's Varsity 8 boats were listed in the top 25 of the IRA National Rankings in late April, with the entire team 24
th in the Ten Eyck Trophy poll. The Varsity 4+ was selected to the IRA National Championships for the fourth consecutive season and finished eighth.
Despite the impressive accolades, there was a sense that the team could've reached even greater heights. At the time of the NIRC Championships, the Marist eight boat that was clocking faster times than the 2018 IRA qualifier sustained a couple injuries before the regatta. The crew was unable to qualify for IRAs as a result.
With the setback in mind, the seniors and the crew trained in order to bounce back from those results and continue to establish Marist as a national powerhouse in the Northeast. The V8 was off to a great start in the fall, and was ranked 20
th in the IRA Preseason Poll back on March 11, a five-spot improvement from where it stood a season ago.
Ultimately, that ranking will stand until the fall and next spring, as the Red and White are unable to defend it.
"I am proud of the pre-season ranking that we achieved in 2020," said Head Coach Campbell Woods. "We are hugely disappointed to not be able to race this year, as the team felt very strong and was gearing up for a great spring. We obviously support the decisions that have been made to protect our communities, and we hope to see our fans again in the fall as our nation recovers from this crisis."
Matthew Blaszczyk played an instrumental role in the team's achievements from the last three-plus years. From his freshman campaign in 2017, he was a key cog in the Varsity 8+. He earned a spot in the V8 that rowed in the 2018 IRA Championships, and occupied the second seat of the 2019 IRA V4 crew. Occupying the sixth seat in the V8 in the fall, he helped the crew place first and second at the Head of the Fish and the Navy Day Regatta, respectively. Arguably, his most impressive feat in his four-year career – depending on who you ask within the program – is winning the annual biathlon in back-to-back years.
Claire Connally has been a mainstay on the V4 crews during her time as a Red Fox coxswain. Her success started with a first-place showing in the 4+ at the Head of the Fish during her sophomore year. In the 2018-19 season, she repeated that performance as the Collegiate 4 coxswain. Taking on additional responsibility with the Third Varsity 8, she added wins with the crew in the Bates and WPI dual race as well as the matchups against Georgetown, Temple, and Holy Cross. In her final season, she already posted top-10 results in the Navy Day Regatta (sixth in the Collegiate 4 B boat) and Head of the Fish (second in the Collegiate 4 B boat and 2V8).
Though
Antoine-Hameed Mourani had just joined the Marist crew during the 2018-19 fall semester, he developed his skills throughout the season to rise to a captain in 2019-20. He slotted in the fourth seat of the Varsity 8 in the fall, helping the Red Foxes to a first-place finish in the Head of the Fish. At the Navy Day Regatta, the V8 was second, and he teamed up with
August Blanchett to take third in open pairs.
Christopher Rechen would be best known for his versatility as a Red Fox. He rowed in five different crews in his freshman year, and continued to show his adaptability in 2018, when he was in the Varsity 4 at the IRA Championships and Varsity 8 at the NIRC Championships. His willingness to fill the team's needs translated to a prime spot in the V8 the following year, and he was selected for the bow seat in the V4+ at the 2019 IRA Championships. The 2019-20 captain was rowing in the seventh seat of the V8 and had two podium finishes with Blaszczyk in open pairs in the fall of 2019.
From his first year in the Red and White,
Ari Streeter accepted important responsibilities as a coxswain. This was evident when he led the 2V8 at the NIRC Championships, then turned to guide the V4+ at the IRA Championships in his sophomore year. From that point, he was the coxswain of the Varsity 8 crew, leading the boat during the spring of 2019. With just the V4+ going to IRAs that season, he was selected as the coxswain for the regatta. Streeter continued to fit many roles during the fall season of his senior year, powering the Collegiate 4 A boat to a win at the Head of the Fish, and leading the V8 to silver at the Navy Day Regatta.
Much like the rest of the college athletics landscape, Marist Men's Rowing is in a holding pattern during the COVID-19 outbreak. The NCAA ruled that men's rowing seniors could receive an additional year of eligibility. However, there are many variables to weigh when considering the extra year.
What does that mean for this crop of seniors? There is either an opportunity to continue the redemption tour and end one's career on a high note, or to begin the next phase of one's life and give the underclassmen their time to shine. This is a complex scenario, but for a team that has ranked as one of the best in the nation in recent seasons, the Red Foxes have the personnel and the drive to succeed no matter what the outcome is.
It helps to have had a senior class that has set the standard with its commitment and versatility since 2017.
Senior Spotlights: Women's Tennis (March 23) | Men's Tennis (March 25) | Women's Lacrosse (March 30) | Baseball (April 1) | Water Polo (April 2) | Softball | Women's Track and Field | Women's Rowing | Men's Lacrosse | Men's Track and Field
