RIDGEFIELD, NJ - Marist women's rowing traveled to Ridgefield, NJ's Overpeck Park this past weekend to compete at the NYRA Fall Invitational (2000m).
 

RECAP

Marist traveled with two Varsity 8s, 2 F/N 8s and one Varsity 4. The format was a morning dual race between Marist and Holy Cross while UConn, FFD and Villanova all raced each other. In the afternoon, except for the V8 race, which was changed to a five boat final, the races were between the winners of the morning races along with the crew with the next best time in an "A" final followed by a "B" final for the remaining crews, such that all teams raced twice down the course by the end of the day.

The Varsity 8 consisted of coxswain Ariana Novero, Gabrielle Insero, Summer Starrett, Ashley Surette, Natalia Miklos, Avalon Johnson, Natalie Ronan, Isabel Consavari and Rebecca Paul. The crew raced well in the first round and ended the morning three seconds behind Holy Cross in a time of 7:00.399. The other heat saw Villanova win in a time of 6:57.511, UConn 2nd in 7:00.919 and FFD third in a time of 7:01.471. All five crews from both heats were within four seconds of each other, which set up an exciting final for the afternoon race. After reviewing the first race, this crew maintained its confidence and made plans to improve upon their middle move.  Another strong start and effective shift aided the confidence of the crew in the afternoon's race. Marist got out to a small lead once again, but Holy Cross slowly worked it's way through to win by 4.4 seconds. The Red Foxes were able to maintain the second position by holding off strong pushes from Villanova, UConn and FFD.

Final Results:  HOLY CROSS: 7:19.063, MARIST 7:23.424, VILLANOVA 7:24.704, UCONN 7:27.581, FFD 7:31.004

The 2nd Varsity 8 consisted of coxswain Emma Spiro, Katie Beichert, Lillian Iannaccone, Shelby McDougall, Sophie Forster, Kora Eckelman, Nora Messer, Lucia Kennedy and Emily Liguori. This boat had two hard fought races as well. Round one placed our crew in 2nd behind Holy Cross with a time of 7:30.417. The crew felt as though they could execute their race plan better and vowed to have a stronger 2nd race in the afternoon. Although FFD got off the start quickly and pushed out to a one length early lead which grew a bit through the middle of the race, Marist fought the whole way down the course and learned a lot about what it takes to perform under duress and not give up. The crew felt as though it had a better start than the first race and a really solid shift to race pace enabled them to establish a much calmer yet aggressive body of the race. The crew raised the stroke rate at the end of the race more effectively and felt that the boat was more stable throughout the race.  All in all, a solid day of racing for this crew.

Final Results:  FFD 7:41.104, MARIST 7:49.987

The F/N8 for the morning race consisted of coxswain(s) Grace Foley, Abby Deane, Rebecca Rush, Samantha Stortz, Megan McGowan, Erica Witty, Maddie Buchsbaum, Maria Belfakih, and Camryn Aprilante. Up against UConn's 4V and Holy Cross' novice 8, this was the first 2000m race for all nine members of the crew and it raced remarkably well. Although they finished 3rd in its first race, this crew picked out all of the things they did well and understands how important it will be to train hard over the winter and stay motivated to continue with their amazing progress witnessed throughout their first semester of rowing. The F/N8 for the afternoon race consisted of coxswain(s) Grace Foley, Abby Deane, Rebecca Rush, Samantha Stortz, Megan McGowan, Charlotte Lezny, Maddie Buchsbaum, Sophia Ventosa, and Matis Iacovitti. This crew was excited to get the opportunity to race and gain more 2K experience before the end of the fall. They gave everything they had, rowed well together and came off the water completely drained, which is what a crew that has raced hard is supposed to do.

Final Results:  FFD 8:31.198, MARIST 8:40.549

The Varsity 4 consisted of coxswain Juliette Savarino, Sydney Macchia, Lilly Green, Jennifer Liguori and Jenna Jaffe. The morning race was competitive across all three lanes, with FFD winning the heat followed by Marist with a time of 8:15.406 ahead of Holy Cross whose time was 8:16.021. This placed the 4 into the A final in the afternoon where it faced two FFD 4s. In the afternoon the crew came off their strong start in second place, and were able to keep the 2nd FFD crew at bay to finish 2nd overall. 

Final Results: FFD 8:17.358, MARIST 8:28.544, FFD 8:35.855.

The weather cooperated for the second weekend in a row as it was abnormally warm and pleasant for a fall regatta, particularly in November. The entire team enjoyed the great conditions and gained a lot of valuable racing experience on the buoyed 2000m course.

This wraps up the fall racing season for the Red Fox women's crews. We will continue to log miles on the Hudson and push each other to gain more endurance, boat speed and technical skill for as long as the weather cooperates up through Thanksgiving. The entire team is eager to see what it can accomplish through winter training in preparation for an exciting spring season.