Florida Tech Panthers Varsity 8 Rowing Team Claims Bronze at SIRA Regatta

By Christina Hardman, Florida Tech News Bureau // April 18, 2023

Varsity 8+ earned third place with a time of 6:14.518

The men’s rowing team is once again bringing home some hardware. The Panthers claimed bronze in the Varsity 8+ A finals on Sunday at the SIRA Regatta. (Florida Tech image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The men’s rowing team is once again bringing home some hardware. The Panthers claimed bronze in the Varsity 8+ A finals on Sunday at the SIRA Regatta.

In the A final, the Varsity 8+ earned third place with a time of 6:14.518. With 500 meters to go, Tech was sitting in fifth place.

The Panthers sprinted the final 500, walking through two boats and catching up to Jacksonville. Jacksonville edged out Tech by a slim margin with a time of 6:14.430. Colgate claimed the top spot in 6:05.092. Virginia RA (6:14.598), Notre Dame (6:19.516), and Stetson (6:19.564) rounded out the final.

“Their performance at SIRA in the grand final showed the absolute determination of this men’s eight when pressed to their limits sprinting in the final 400 meters of the 2000 meter race from 5th to 3rd,” said Interim Head Coach Casey Baker.”

This required a photo finish with less than 1/10 second behind Jacksonville University and less than 1/10 second ahead of UVA. Their drive will propel this team forward to excel at the Dad Vail Regatta and the next day at the AARC (Atlantic Assoc of Rowing Colleges) regatta in Washington, DC.”

Varsity 8+

■ Coxswain / Justin Woodyard

■ 8 / Sandro Gardella

■ 7 / Justas Kuskevicius

■ 6 / Domantas Marocka

■ 5 / Omer Bayram

■ 4 / Arnedas Kelmelis

■ 3 / Zach Judge

■ 2 / Josh Navarro

■ Bow / Hayden Linkel

UP NEXT: The Panthers will be back in action May 12-13 at the Dad Vail Regatta in Camden, N.J.