Liberty League announces Men's Rowing awards
CREW OF THE YEAR: Hobart Varsity Eight
The Hobart Varsity Eight was selected as the Liberty League Crew of the Year. The Statesmen captured their twelfth straight Liberty League title in 2017, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:30.690, eight seconds ahead of the next boat. Hobart also earned gold medals at the National Invitational Rowing Championships (NIRC) for the first time since 2014 as the Statesmen won the varsity eight race, by two seconds, recording a time of 5:59.10. The win allowed Hobart to earn the NIRC’s automatic bid to the 2017 Intercollege Rowing Association National Championship June 2-4 in Sacramento, California.
NOVICE CREW OF THE YEAR: RIT Novice Eight
The RIT Novice Eight was selected as the Liberty League Novice Crew of the Year as the Tigers cruised to victory, clocking in a time of 6:54.500. The novice eight boat is made up of Liam Brodie, Adriano Decastro, John Habjan, Michael Coy, Hutch Hyde, Dan Measer, Jakob Southern, Ramsey Doolittle and Michael Trossman. The Tigers followed up the Liberty League championships with the second fastest time in the novice eight heats at the New York State Collegiate Rowing Championships, finishing with a time of 6:33.20, but the final was scratched due to the weather. At the 2017 National Invitational Rowing Championships, the following week, RIT earned silver as the Tigers were less than four seconds behind first place Boston College with a time of 6:11.625. The medals were the Tigers’ first in the novice eight and highest program finish since 1997.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rochester Institute of Technology – Head Coach Jim Bodenstedt; Assistant Coaches Cassidy Goepel and Chris Frey
RIT head coach Jim Bodenstedt as well as assistant coaches Cassidy Goepel and Chris Frey were selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. In the 10 regattas the Tigers competed in this year, the Varsity Eight finished among the top-three in nine, including a second-place in the Liberty League championships and New York state championships. The varsity eight also earned a spot in the petite final in the National Invitational Rowing Championships (NIRC), where they finished second. The novice eight closed out the year with medals at the NIRC for the first time since 1997, placing second, and the second varsity eight was fourth in the petite final.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE MEN’S ROWING TEAM:
Will Armero, Sr., Skidmore
Sam Ash, Jr., Hobart
Alex Crawford, Sr., Rochester
Adriano Decastro, Fr., RIT
Andrew Giacobbe, Jr., St. John Fisher
Harrison Luce, Jr., Hobart
Connor Murdock, Jr., RIT
Matt Reinhardt, Jr., Union
Ben Robinson, Jr., Hobart
Andrew Seta, Fr., Hobart (coxswain)
Palchen Wangchuk, Sr., St. Lawrence