Men's Rowing Opens 2010 Season Friday In San Diego
3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Crew
March 11, 2010
ON TAP: The Gonzaga University men's rowing squad begins its spring season Friday at the University of San Diego/UC San Diego Regatta. The Zags will row at Mission Bay in San Diego, Calif.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS AT SAN DIEGO/UC SAN DIEGO REGATTA: Tentative schedule is as follows (please be aware this could be changed based on weather and water conditions): Varsity 8+, Junior Varsity 8+ and Freshman 8+, starting at 7 a.m. on Fiesta Island course in Mission Bay. The Zags will also scrimmage both UC San Diego and USD Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning.
LAST TIME VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO: The Gonzaga University men's rowing team began its 2009 spring season racing UC San Diego on rocky water. The Bulldogs, who hosted the event, had to move their dual to Mica Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho due to inclement weather all week in the Spokane area. The Zags won all three races over the Tritons, despite the choppy water. The Varsity 8+ saw GU take a one second victory over UC San Diego. The Freshman 8+ also won, despite a few hiccups. The two boats were dead even the first 1,000-meters but then a clash occurred as the Zag coxswain encroached on the Tritons water. UC San Diego had to strop and start again. GU finished the race at 6:38.3 and UCSD finished in 6:42.4. Because of ice floating into the race course, the Junior Varsity 8+ turned into a six-minute timed piece. GU won by a length and three-quarters.
WHO THE VARSITY BOAT RETURNS: The 2010 Gonzaga University Varsity 8+ boat returns four rowers from a season ago. The four rowers returning to the top boat are Andrew Krug, Benjamin Schwarz, Matt White and Connor Wege - all juniors this season. These four are the stern of the varsity boat. All four helped the Zags to a fifth-place finish in the Third Level Final of the Intercollegiate Association (IRA) Regatta to finish 17th in the nation a season. The Varsity 8+, only racing in the IRA's for the second time in school history, made history with its 17th place finish.
HEAD COACH DAN GEHN'S THOUGHTS ON OPENING THE 2010 SEASON: "We have had really good weather and water to be able to start the season out with. The big question mark is whether or not we have kept the speed from a season ago. This is still a youthful team. Other teams have showed good speed, UC San Diego had a dominant performance against USD last weekend and Washington State University might be the front runner based on fall results and on our dual. With that being said we are excited to have the opportunity to race multiple times this weekend."
VARSITY 8+ LINEUP: Sean Finerty, Matt White, Andrew Krug, Connor Wege, Benjamin Schwarz, Mike Gore, Ken Mentele, Nick Willard, Tyler Mendiola.
JUNIOR VARSITY 8+ LINEUP: Crystal Huff, Frank Russo, Jeremy Lazzara, Julian Stephanski, Connor Murphy, Neil Coppinger, Will Griffith, Evan Winniger, David Wayne.
FRESHMAN 8+ LINEUP: Taylor Mattheisen, Matthew Tate, Erik Strand, Daniel Rinker, Dane Pavilk, Frankie Green, Garrett Benson, Stuart McDonald, Stephen McEvoy.
