......FALL 2009 SEASON......
NA Rowers win Silver, Bronze at Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints
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Updated January 31, 2010
Congratulations to John Rectenwald (Silver in Boys JV) and Kim Gilmour (Bronze in Girls Varsity)
at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints held at Central Catholic (full results).
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Novice crews shine at American Heritage
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Updated November 4, 2009
Women's Novice 8.
Tiger novices, who had their last chance this weekend to race in the Novice category,
made the best of that opportunity, bringing home two Gold and one Silver medal from
the 7th annual American Heritage River Fall Classic in Wyandotte, Michigan. Gold was
won by the Women's Jr. Novice Eight (Valerie Kopyta, Ellie Duursma, Nicole Rotunno,
Maureen Crammond, Jenni Miller, Sarah Sharpnack, Christina Hunkele, Madison Treser,
Jess Mazur (cox)), finishing 1st out of 6, and the Men's Jr Novice 4 (Andre Ficerai,
Jake Lennon, Sean Kurtz, John Rectenwald, coxed by Jess Mazur), 1st out of 10 boats. Adding
to the two Gold medals was one Silver, won by the Women's Jr Novice 4
(Ellie Duursma, Sarah Sharpnack, Maureen Crammond, Madison Treser, coxed, again by
Jess Mazur), which finished 2nd out of 9, missing Gold by 8 seconds.
Head Coach Gary Schermer was very pleased with the novices' performances, naming
in particular Eric McQuiston, who was called upon to substitute for his brother David
in the Men's Jr Four and performed admirably, even after 16,000 meters of rowing, for
a grand total of 24,000 meters. "An ironman performance", noted Schermer, who also
praised Nicole Rotunno. Nicole, who normally can be seen in the coxswain seat,
trained for four days and grabbed an oar to help the Women's Novice Eight win Gold.
Silver for Mixed 8.
Once again, the team was unable to practice the day before, as 25 mile an hour winds
made for stormy conditions, ruling out any chance of heading out on the water. The weather
turned around quickly on Sunday, giving rise to a somewhat chilly but otherwise calm day
of racing that went for the most part flawlessly. Sunday morning started with the Mixed
Eight event, where our "A" boat (Jess Pegher, Lauren Vespoli, Merel Duursma, Kim Gilmour,
Cole Lennon, Mike Durbiano, Kurt Schoffstall, David McQuiston, coxed by Meghan Wilson),
took Second Place (out of 13), finishing just 7 seconds behind Toledo Rowing Club. In
that same race, our "B" boat of Liz Craig, Christine Frazier, Michelle Benson, Lauren Larocca,
Evan Solic, Eric McQuiston, Sean Kurtz, Billy Brant, Nicole Rotunno(cox) took 8th place.
Also early in the morning, Steven Genise and Zach Petronic, rowing in a Pair, found themselves
among tough competition in this technically very challenging event, which was open (to all
age categories) to boot. The Tiger duo finished 8th out of 9th, in a very respectable time
of just 1 second over 20 minutes.
Our remaining two medals came in the Women's Open Doubles event, where Christine Frazier and
Christina Hunkele finished 2nd out of 3, good for Silver. Valerie Kopyta and Jenni Miller, battling equipment
problems, were rewarded with Bronze for their efforts.
In the Women's Eight, the Tiger ladies (Nicole Rotunno coxing Liz Craig, Meghan Wilson,
Michelle Benson, Lauren Larocca, Merel Duursma, Lauren Vespoli, Jess Pegher, Kim Gilmour)
faced strong competition from
local "powerhouses" Ann Arbor Pioneer and Ann Arbor Huron, finishing fourth (out of 4).
In other races, the Men's Open Lightweight crew of Andre Ficerai, Jake Lennon, Eric McQuiston and
John Rectenwald (Meghan Wilson coxing) finished 7th out of 9. (Recall that almost the same lineup
would later take Gold in the Novice 4 category.) In the Men's Jr. 4, our A boat (Zach
Petronic, Mike Durbiano, Kurt Schoffstall, David McQuiston, Jess Mazur(cox)) and our B crew (Evan Solic, Billy
Brant, Cole Lennon, Steven Genise (Liz Craig coxing)) finished 9th and 12th out of 18,
respectively.
With 6 medals, the Tigers closed out the Fall rowing season on very positive note, and can look
forward to some great competition in the spring. NA rowers will be tuning up over the winter,
with the North Allegheny Indoor Erg Race opening the spring season in March of 2010.
Links: Complete Results,
Pictures.
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Tigers Conquer Adversity at Navy Day Regatta
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Updated October 10, 2009
Three strokes into his Men's Four race, NA rower John Rectenwald looked down at his shoes
and came to the realization that they were no longer attached to the boat; the
track had separated from the bottom of the boat, making the normal rowing
motion all but impossible. No matter though; coxswain Jessica Mazur quickly
took matters into her own hands, keeping John's feet pinned down for the remainder
of the 2.5 mile, 18 minute race down the Schuylkill river. What started out
as an almost certain last place turned into a remarkable 16th out 23 for the
Men's Four, rounded out by Sean Kurtz, Jake Lennon and Andre Ficerai.
Men's Senior Quad.
Coach Gary Schermer was rightly proud of his team. 'Although NARA only came home with
four first place cups, there were a host of intangible successes which occurred', Schermer
noted, explaining that 'in particular, the manner in which a number of team members faced
adverse conditions because of equipment or rowing mishaps and strove to overcome those obstacles
was commendable.' He then concluded by saying 'In the long run, it is persistence and determination
which defines the winner in rowing and in life!'
Earlier, Abi Gunn had shown just that type of resilience after a somewhat unfortunate finish in her
first ever singles race. Together with Jen Milkey, Abi finished 8th out of 18 in the Women's HS
doubles event. In the same race, Christine Frazier and Valerie Kopyta saw their boat flip shortly
after launching, but were able to laugh it off afterwards, despite having to go the distance in
wet clothes.
No medals were awarded in this race. Rather, first place rowers were presented with stylish
Navy Day Regatta "First Place" ceramic mugs (resembling beer steins). The Tigers secured one
set of mugs, albeit in a somewhat unglamorous manner. The Men's Open 4x event drew just two
entries, both from North Allegheny Rowing. Perhaps our Men's Quad's fearsome reputation
scared off the competition! Regardless, first and second place were assured, and our (semi-)
Senior Quad (David McQuiston, Zach Petronic, Steven Genise, Mike Durbiano) handily beat out their
junior brethren (Billy Brant, Cole Lennon, Eric McQuiston, Evan Solic). The same two boats
competed in the High School Quad event, where the McQuiston crew finished 4th out of 21, and
the Brant crew finished in 10th place.
Women's Senior Quad.
In the Women's High School Quad event, the Sr. crew of Kim Gilmour, Lauren
Vespoli, Merel Duursma, and Meghan Wilson finished 4th out of 17, while Lauren Larocca, Madison Treser,
Michelle Benson and Liz Craig were 12th (mostly due to a 40 second penalty which knocked them
down from what would have been 6th place). Penalties also dogged the Women's Four (Christina Hunkele,
Sarah Sharpnack, Ellie Duursma, Jenny Miller, coxed by Nicole Rotunno), dropping them
from 15th to 17 place (out of 24).
Another bright spot was the Women's Open Doubles event, where Madison Treser and Maureen Crammond
finished strongly, taking 5th place out of 9.
Here are the
Official Results. Check out race pictures!
The fall rowing season will conclude with the American Heritage River Fall Classic, held
Nov 1st at the beautiful Wyandotte Boat Club
in Wyandotte, Michigan.
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Head of the Ohio Cut Short Again; Tigers Score Gold, Silver!
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Updated October 5, 2009
For the second year in a row, the Head of the Ohio ended prematurely due to adverse
weather conditions. While last year thunderstorms made afternoon rowing impossible,
this year it was the rather abrupt onset of heavy winds that put an early end to what
started out as a beautiful day of racing. As a result, the final 23 of 63 races were
canceled, sending many rowers home without having had a chance to test their skills.
2009 Head of the Ohio
Soon after the lunch break, trouble began when two men's Eight boats, one from Duquesne and
one from Westerville, Ohio, were swamped near the start at Washington's Landing. River
Rescue and the US Coast Guard brought all rowers to safety and the race continued, but
was finally halted when a third boat, from Villanova, PA, suffered the same fate.
Luckily, no one was hurt or needed medical attention.
For NA, the day began with the Women's Varsity 8 (Lauren Larocca, Jessica Pegher, Abi Gunn,
Merel Duursma, Meghan Wilson, Michelle Benson, Jen Milkey, Liz Craig, Nicole Rotunno(cox)),
which finished 10th out of 17th. Next up was
the Men's Sr. Quad (Zac Petronic, Kurt Schoffstall, Mike Durbiano, David McQuiston), which scored our
first medal of the day, taking Gold by finishing 1st out 5. A second NA quad (Steven
Genise, Billy Brant, Cole Lennon, Evan Solic) took 5th place in the same race.
Men's 4x win gold.
Two NA boats entered the Women's Youth/High School 2x race.
Kim Gilmour and Lauren Vespoli took 8th out of 18 overall, but were 2nd among High School
entries, earning them Silver, our second medal of the day.
Madison Treser and Sarah Sharpnack finished 15th.
Still under sunny skies, our Men's Novice 4 (Andre Ficerai, Sean Kurtz, Jake Lennon,
John Rectenwald, Jessica Mazur (cox)) posted an excellent performance, finishing 5th out of 25.
After lunch, shortly before the race was canceled, our Men's 8 (David McQuiston, Zac Petronic,
Steven Genise, Kurt Schoffstall, Mike Durbiano, Cole Lennon, Billy Brant, Evan Solic, coxed by
Nicole Rotunno) edged out Three Rivers Rowing Association, finishing 8th out of 16th.
All eyes were set for the Women's Quad race (traditionally a strong event for NA),
where we had 3 boats entered. Unfortunately, after
rowing the 2.8 miles to the start, all 3 boats were stopped from racing and had to slowly work their
way back to the start.
Our last two boats of the day (Women's Novice 4 and Men's Lightweight 4) never even made it
off the launching dock.
A final special mention goes to two parents of former NA rowers. Jim Hudson and Rich Marcus
participated in the Men's Masters 2x event under the NARA name, turning in a very respectable
performance.
Also see Official results
and pictures!
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Welcome New Recruits
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Updated September 12, 2009
Tryouts have completed and Coach Schermer is proud to announce the following new team members (all are 9th graders except where indicated otherwise)
• Boys: Tim Gill, Xaq Herold, Ryan Hopey, Mike Limauro, Lucas Macaluso, Zak Milkey, Nick Neugebauer (10), Joe Schermer (10), Sam Sheridan, Zach Slaton
• Girls: Allison Bostedo (10), Gina Caruso, Samantha Davis, Courtney Ferguson, Sarah Lamanna, Stephanie Plut, Meg Sekinger, Kaylee Williams, Macy Zylstra
Please introduce yourselves to the new team members and welcome them to North Allegheny Rowing!
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Where Are The Old Stories?
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With the new season upon us, all of last years' stories have been moved to the
Past Results page!
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ImPACT testing
Rowers entering 10th or 12th
grade: if you did not get an ImPACT test in September, you must contact the
North Allegheny Athletic office ASAP. Same for rowers entering 9th or 11th grade, EVEN IF YOU
TOOK ONE THE PRIOR YEAR IMPACT TEST SCHEDULE. |
National Team Rowers Answer Your Questions
Current and former US National Team members of the Men's, Women's and Lightweight Teams
have volunteered to answer your questions! Women, would you like to know what it takes
to compete at the highest level? Men, would you like tips on how to improve your technique on
the water or how to best approach seat-racing? Lightweights, would you like tips on how to make
weight or handle weigh-ins? (Coxswains, you're welcome to continue submitting your questions too!)
Submit your questions here. |
ALUMNI!
Alumni, please let us know what you are up to, and we will
publish your contribution on the ALUMNI page! |
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