Crew Concludes 5k Racing at Head of the Occoquan

The Susquehanna University Crew Team took on the Head of the Occoquan Regatta in Fairfax Station, Virginia on Saturday, November 2nd. The team raced five boats and dealt with some fairly stark competition. The Head of the Occoquan regatta has gained popularity over the years that Susquehanna has competed there, and the 2019 race saw heats of up to 25 boats.

To start off the morning, the Women's Varsity 8 competed against 14 other boats. They finished with a placing of 14th and a time of 20:35.30, beating Cabrini (21:19.86) by a minute and 24 seconds. The women's crew came fairly close to some of their competition, including Virginia Tech (20:18.26) and St. Mary's College of Maryland (20:10.95). Georgetown University took first place in the race with an impressive time of 17:06.25. Susquehanna's crew included varsity members Nicole Grace, Nora Moran, Alexis Rich, Kristina Palmisano, Halle Minner, Carolyn Muench, Rose Wetzel and Audrey Crandall. They were coxed by Sami Koitz.

Next up, the Women's Novice 4 took 14th out of 16 boats, with a time of 27:13.53. The members of this crew were Madi Freed, Maia Hunter, Sophia Zurlo, and Rio Malarkey. They were coxed by Sophia Williams. The women managed to out row the University of Maryland by a minute and 35 seconds. American University scratched the race and took a place of 16th.

The Men's Novice 4, expected to row at the same time as the women, unfortunately had to scratch the race. Crew member Joseph McKee is suffering from a hamstring complication that the team did not want to risk in the last 5k of the fall season. Joe hopes to take time during winter break to rehab in order to be ready to go when winter conditioning season comes around in January. The other members of this boat include Robert Hyer, Nicolas Summers, and Arata Fujikawa. Changes are expected to be made for the final race of the fall season, when the team heads to Bald Eagle State Park to row a 2k hosted by Penn State in support of their annual fundraiser THON.

The Varsity Men's pair were the next to row, racing in a small heat with 4 other boats. Susquehanna and Loyola University of Maryland were the two collegiate boats in the race, however Loyola ended up scratching the race. Boat members Liam Bishop and Ben Horine finished with a time of 22:17.94, rowing against Potomac Boat Club and Occoquan Boat Club.

Next up, the Men's Varsity 4 finished the race with a time of 24:11.14. They came in 16th place out of 16 boats, going up against some difficult competition. Georgetown University took the head with an impressive time of 17:10.44. The members of Susquehanna's crew included Mike Avellino, Evan Komorowski, Alex Waxman and Justin Calabrese.

To finish off the day, the Women's Varsity 4 had an impressive performance, placing 16th out of 24 boats. They finished with a time of 23:37.55. Bailey Auchey, Anna Chobanoff, Gabi Libenson, Morgan Stimson, and coxswain Edward Nestor managed to defeat boats from University of Maryland (23:53.31), St. John's College(23:54.33), St. Mary's College of Maryland(24:23.61), George Mason University(25:06.68), Christopher Newport University(25:21.55), American University(25:50.45), and Cabrini University who scratched the race. This is the third time in three races that these women beat multiple boats by a decent margin. Looking onto the spring 2k season, they show a lot of promise to be competitive at these sprint races.

The team will be completing the Fall season next weekend on Sunday, November 10th for a 2k race hosted by Penn State University at Bald Eagle State Park for the Nittany Lion Chase. The race is in support of the fundraiser THON, and will give rowers and spectators alike a taste of the spring season, which is right around the corner. Susquehanna will be rowing against boats from Penn State, Bucknell, and La Salle Universities, as well as some new additions to the race's lineup.

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Players Mentioned

Liam Bishop: PORT; Senior

Nora Moran: STAR; 5' 7"; Sophomore

Ben Horine: STAR; Senior

Kristina Palmisano: STAR/PORT; Senior

Anna Chobanoff: STAR; Junior

Audrey Crandall: PORT; Sophomore

Sami Koitz: COXSWAIN; Sophomore

Evan Komorowski: PORT; Sophomore

Halle Minner: PORT; Sophomore

Carolyn Muench: STAR; Sophomore

Alexis Rich: PORT; Sophomore

Bailey Auchey: STAR/COX; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Liam Bishop
: Senior
: PORT

Nora Moran
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: STAR

Ben Horine
: Senior
: STAR

Kristina Palmisano
: Senior
: STAR/PORT

Anna Chobanoff
: Junior
: STAR

Audrey Crandall
: Sophomore
: PORT

Sami Koitz
: Sophomore
: COXSWAIN

Evan Komorowski
: Sophomore
: PORT

Halle Minner
: Sophomore
: PORT

Carolyn Muench
: Sophomore
: STAR

Alexis Rich
: Sophomore
: PORT

Bailey Auchey
: Sophomore
: STAR/COX