April 11, 2009
Varsity Four Wins DII/III Event at Knecht Cup
Novice Four Advances to Petite Final

CHERRY HILL, NJ -- A first-place finish by the varsity four in the Division II/III event highlighted a successful performance by the Washington College men's rowing team at the Knecht Cup, held Friday and Saturday on the Cooper River in New Jersey.

The Shoremen's boat in the Division II/III varsity four won its five-boat heat by 18 seconds, finishing first in 7:28.2 to advance to the finals. New York Maritime was second in the heat in 7:46.3, Hobart was third in 8:06.4, Rutgers-Camden was fourth in 8:14.7, and The College of New Jersey was fifth in 9:35.8. The Shoremen then won the final of the event by nearly 10 seconds, finishing in 7:44.5. Merchant Marine was second in 7:54.2, Johns Hopkins was third in 8:05.8, New York Maritime was fourth in 8:07.6, Philadelphia U. was fifth in 8:38.8, and Brandeis was sixth in 8:46.0

Junior Springer Harris (Huntingtown, MD/Northern) served as coxswain of the Shoremen's boat in the Division II/III varsity four. Junior Brian Gamble (Gibson Island, MD/Holderness School, NH) sat stroke, sophomore Reno Smith (Ocean City, MD/Worcester Prep) sat in the three seat, sophomore Michael Zaborskiy (Novosibirsk City, Russia/American School of Bangkok) was in the two seat, and sophomore Will Herland (Seattle, WA/Lakeside School) was in the bow.

The frosh/novice four finished second in its heat in 7:27.5 to advance to the semifinals. Philadelphia U. won the heat in 7:21.3, Johns Hopkins was third in 8:03.9, New York Maritime was fourth in 8:06.6, and Hofstra was fifth in 8:32.3. The novices were fourth in their semifinal in 8:00.6. Philadelphia U. was first in 7:46.0, Loyola was second in 7:52.4, Merchant Marine was third in 7:59.4, Villanova was fifth in 8:10.3, and Pittsburgh was sixth in 8:25.7. In the petite final, Washington was third in 8:27.9. Mercyhurst was first in 8:17.8, Carnegie Mellon "A" was second in 8:27.1, Pittsburgh was fourth in 8:47.4, Boston College was fifth in 8:51.9, and Villanova was sixth in 8:53.4.

Freshman Isabel Derera (Reisterstown, MD/Franklin) served as coxswain for the Shoremen's frosh/novice four. Sophomore Guy Tawney (Baltimore, MD/St. Paul's School) sat stroke, freshman Sean Harrison (Richmond, VA/Hazleton Area, PA) was in the three seat, freshman Miqdad Annab (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) was in the two seat, and freshman Zack Holocker (Centreville, MD/Queen Anne's County) was the bow.

Washington finished third of five boats in the second varsity four in 8:25.4. St. Joseph's won in 7:58.7, Marietta was second in 8:19.3, George Mason was fourth in 8:35.9, an Penn State was fifth in 8:42.8.s

Senior Carla Wiemers (Kensington, MD/Holy Cross) served as the coxswain of the Shoremen's boat in the second varsity four. Junior Andrew Newell (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) sat stroke, junior Tommy Price (Pasadena, MD/Severn School) was in the three seat, junior Kevin Rodriguez (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) sat in the two seat, and junior Dan Pierce (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) was the bow.

Junior Derek Trott (Huntingtown, MD/Northern) and senior Matthew Icenroad (Sykesville, MD/Century) rowed in the men's pair for the Shoremen and finished third in their heat in 8:46.2. Rochester was first in 7:45.3, Colgate "C" was second in 7:53.6, Carnegie Mellon "B" was fourth in 9:05.4, and Haverford was fifth in 9:05.8.

The Shoremen return to action in two weeks at the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championships in York, PA.