COVENTRY, Conn.—The Sacred Heart women's rowing team had a pair of wins to open the spring season on Saturday afternoon at UConn. The Pioneers raced against UConn, Marist, and Holy Cross.
"Today was the beginning of the racing season against three competitors we respect and love to race," said Head Coach Luke Wilhelm. "Marist is the conference rival that we really want to push on. UConn is the instate competition we turn to a few times a year, and Holy Cross always makes for close racing."
The Sacred Heart 1V8 boat of
Mia Bottone,
Kadence Faucher,
Doria Lukasik-Drescher,
Olivia Chasse,
Ava Manzo,
Susan Munley,
Samantha Keith,
Selena Hescock, and
Jane Kurkowski had a first-place finish with a time of 7:10.9.
"The first 8+ had a decent start but really proved their mettle in the middle of the race," said Wilhelm. "We had a steady rhythm that took us through the field on our way to a win in the 1v. This is the start of the season we have trained for, and we want to get back to work."
The Pioneers 2V8 of
Sophia Bittar,
Olivia Nguyen,
Emily Jenkins,
Gabrielle Gottschall,
Yelanni Diaz,
Rose Kelly,
Lily Holt,
Trinity Savage, and
Olivia Caione, finished in second place with a time of 7:24.9, just four seconds behind Holy Cross.
"The second 8+ similarly had a strong base rhythm that pushed them into 2nd behind a strong Holy Cross 2v. We had a barn burner of a race for second with an amazing sprint from UConn. We came out on top in a photo finish."
SHU finished fourth at 8:15.5 in the V4 race, consisting of
Sara Bojorque,
Sophia Gatto,
Alissa Cooke,
Caitlyn Bergman, and
Sofia Fisher.
"The A4 fully lived out the 'you win some, you lose some' on the other side of a photo finish, added Wilhelm. "This crew will surely come together in the coming weeks and be able to seek redemption next time we see these crews."
The Pioneers picked up a third-place finish in the 2V4 with a time of 9:29.8. The B4 boat included
Ava Del Greco,
Elizabeth Russell,
Meredith Sommers,
Leah Mansfield, and
Olivia Kowalski.
"The B4 had a very strong start then a bass fisherman chose to enter the race and waked out several of the crews. We responded well to the challenge this week of training," said Wilhelm.
SHU's second win of the day came from the 3V8+ boat of
Amanda Rego,
Sara Blakely,
Ava Ciauro,
Lauren McQuillan,
Natalia Sullivan,
MaryAgnes Sistino,
Sophia O'Malley,
Helena Medici, and
Callie Bellwoar. The Pios clocked a time of 7:37.1 for the first-place finish.
"The 3v8+ was my favorite race of the day, leading wire to wire. They showed our depth and our future," said Wilhelm. "I'm very proud of the roster from top to bottom!"
Up Next:
Sacred Heart is back in action on Saturday, April 12 at Holy Cross.
