Florida Tech Rowing Places Third At Sunshine State Conference Championships

By  //  April 30, 2016

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For the third consecutive year, Florida Tech has placed third at the Sunshine State Conference Championships, accumulating 10 points with a pair of third-place finishes on Friday at Nathan Benderson Park. (FIT Image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – For the third consecutive year, Florida Tech has placed third at the Sunshine State Conference Championships, accumulating 10 points with a pair of third-place finishes on Friday at Nathan Benderson Park.

Securing the conference title with 20 points was defending champion Barry, which finished five points ahead of Nova Southeastern.

Samantha Martinez represented FIT on the All-SSC Team, the second such honor in as many years for the senior. Aurelia Gervasi was bestowed with all-freshman laurels.

Adam Thorstad
Adam Thorstad

“With what she brings to the team and how she has been training and performing this year, I think Sam is doing a really good job as far as setting a tone for the rest of the team to follow,” said head coach Adam Thorstad.

“Aurelia has been bringing it every day at practice. She made the boat that we sent to the Head of the Charles in the fall and has been stroking the varsity this year. It’s a pretty big deal for a freshman to have that kind of an impact on the team.”

Gervasi All-FreshmanThe championships kicked off with a varsity four exhibition, in which FIT’s team of Molly Kingston, Jessica Weatherman, Shaula Rey, Suzanne Beims and coxswain Prerona Ritu Dewan took second with a time of 8:18.6, 9.7 seconds back of NSU.

In the varsity four final, Natalie Miller, Emily Hall, Michaela Allen, Jessica Bunting and coxswain Alexandra Coultrup teamed up to snag third in 8:04.0, 14.1 seconds behind the Bucs.

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In the varsity four final, Natalie Miller, Emily Hall, Michaela Allen, Jessica Bunting and coxswain Alexandra Coultrup teamed up to snag third in 8:04.0, 14.1 seconds behind the Bucs. (Image by Jim Hogue)

The Panthers’ varsity eight boat of Morgan Billig, Tania Kilcullen, Taylor Troy, Martinez, Paige McGroarty, Jordan Ursch, Fedarica Pala, Gervasi and coxswain Hana Ito garnered the third spot with a time of 7:07.8, 10.6 seconds back of Barry.

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Despite finishing in the same spot as 2015, Thorstad can see the progress his squad is making.

“The placement is exactly the same as last year but the racing was much closer this year, which is good to see,” he said.

“I felt like the girls performed really well. Barry was moving pretty quick and Nova has some good speed. We’re hoping to close the gap here in the next couple of weeks and earn a bid to nationals.”

Prior to the NCAA Championships scheduled for late May, the Panthers will hit the Northeast May 13-14 for the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa.