Florida Tech Rowing Preseason Ranked 16th Nationally

By  //  March 27, 2015

Last Season FIT finished 15th at the 2014 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships

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Florida Tech’s men’s varsity eight has earned its highest preseason national ranking in head coach Jim Granger’s eight-year tenure. In the first USRowing Preseason Poll announced on Wednesday, the Panthers are ranked 16th nationally after receiving 37 points. (Photo by Kerry Armstrong)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech’s men’s varsity eight has earned its highest preseason national ranking in head coach Jim Granger’s eight-year tenure. In the first USRowing Preseason Poll announced on Wednesday, the Panthers are ranked 16th nationally after receiving 37 points.

Previously, the Panthers’ best preseason national ranking on Granger’s watch was 20th in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Dartmouth holds the No. 15 spot after receiving one more point than the Panthers in the poll. Just below FIT at No. 17 is Oregon State, which garnered 36 points.

Washington had seven first-place votes and totaled 195 points to have the nation’s top-ranked varsity eight crew.

Cal, which recorded two first-place nods and 189 points, is second. Harvard was awarded the last of the 10 first-place votes and is ranked third at 172 points.

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The Panthers’ national ranking is coming on the heels of a 15th-place finish at the 2014 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships. (Image for SpaceCoastDaily)

The Panthers’ national ranking is coming on the heels of a 15th-place finish at the 2014 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.

In the third level final, the Crimson and Gray took down then No. 14 Penn, then No. 15 Oregon State and then No. 18 Syracuse.

FIT’s varsity eight of coxswain Aaron Evans, stroke Jose Gomez-Feria, Ernestas Zarskis, Nikola Selakovic, Joe Horn, Martynas Mickus, Andy Konecny, Phillip Machen and bow Kevin Coyle opened their spring season at the Governor’s Cup last Saturday with wins over No. 19 Columbia and unranked Jacksonville.

The crew’s win over Columbia is its first since Granger arrived at FIT in 2007.

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Next up for the varsity eight and the Panthers is the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships from April 18-19 in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Men’s Varsity Eight
Team (1st-Place Votes), Points

1. University of Washington (7), 195
2. University of California (2), 189
3. Harvard University (1), 172
4. Princeton University, 169
5. Brown University, 157
6. Yale University, 156
7. Northeastern University, 149
8. Boston University, 122
9 Cornell University, 117
10. United States Naval Academy, 112
11. University of Wisconsin, 102
12. Stanford University, 80
13. University of Pennsylvania, 70
14 Syracuse University, 50
15. Dartmouth College, 38
16. Florida Institute of Technology, 37
17. Oregon State University, 36
18. Drexel University, 27
19. Columbia University, 25
20. Georgetown University, 23

Others Receiving Votes: George Washington University 20, College of the Holy Cross 12, Hobart College 4, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3, Gonzaga University 1, Temple University 1, University of San Diego 1.