Written by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
The boats have hit the water, and the Pioneers look forward to the finish line. Rowing season has come back for the spring semester and both the men’s and women’s teams are gearing for the Dad Vail Regatta in May. On the way, the rowing crews trained during spring break as they’d host four other schools on the Muskingum and travel to San Diego to compete for the Cal Cup.
The men’s team hosted the University of Wisconsin, Mercyhurst University, and Adrian College. The day started with the third varsity 8+ race where Wisconsin entered two boats, finishing first and second, and Marietta finished in third with a time of 6:00.9. In the second race, the second varsity 8+, the Pioneers finished in second by 5 seconds with a time of 5:46.9. Wisconsin finished in first again in 5:41.5 and Mercyhurst in third in 5:58.6. Wisconsin completed the sweep in the varsity 8+ race completing the circuit in 5:22.8. Mercyhurst climbed to second with a time of 5:30.8. Marietta crossed the line last in 5:37.4.
The women’s team hosted the University of Dayton and Adrian College in a varsity 4+ race. The Dayton B crew won with a time of 7:13.47. The Pioneers finished in second at a time of 7:22.54 and Adrian followed with a time of 7:46.95.
“Rowing for Marietta offers many opportunities… like to travel to and explore San Diego,” sophomore Nicolas Invernizzi stated about the trip, “This weekend we’ll be rowing against some different crews that we wouldn’t be able to normally.”
The San Diego Crew Classic began on Saturday where Marietta competed in the Saturday’s Heat Qualifying race. Here the crew rowed against the Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, and the University of Southern California (USC). Marietta was able to qualify for the Grand Finale as they finished in second in 6:18.803. Gonzaga also qualified for the finals winning the heat race in 6:04.192.
In the Grand Finale the Pioneers improved on their Saturday time finishing in 6:17.943. While this was not good enough to win the Cal Cup, it was good for a sixth-place finish. California-Berkley ended up winning the Cal Cup in 5:58.607. Gonzaga finished in second in 6:01.497, followed by California-San Diego, the University of San Diego, and UCLA. Marietta finished ahead of California-Davis and California-Santa Barbara.
“We greatly improved on our time from my first year, and we have less time to practice then some others,” Invernizzi said about the finish.
Last year the men’s crew finished in 6:24.689, seven seconds longer than this year’s final result.
The Pioneer men’s crew will head to Ithaca for the Ithaca Duals on Saturday, April 5th. The same day the women’s crew travels to Adrian, Michigan for the Devil’s Lake Invitational. To keep with Marietta rowing head to https://pioneers.marietta.edu/sports.
