Turkey Lake, Orlando Fl- The Gainesville Area Rowing Novice rowers came away with great results from the Novice Regatta on Saturday February 13, held annually to allow all new rowers across the state a chance to compete in their own 1 day regatta.   20 teams were in attendance with over 150 entries ranging from the 1x up to novice & freshman 8s.

On the women’s side, the ladies brought home a gold in the 2x, silver in the 1x, 4x and novice 4, and bronze in the novice 8 and 1x.

The men had a good showing as well, bringing home a silver in the freshman 4+, a Championship level event,  and coming in a hard fought 4th in the novice 4+.

Also in attendance was GAR’s middle school sculling program, racing against the high schoolers in the men’s and women’s 1x and the men’s 2x.  The middle schoolers also raced a mixed boy’s & girl’s 8+ against several other middle school programs.

The novices will see competition again on March 13 at the OARS Regatta back on Turkey Lake in Orlando.

Lineups
Women Novice 8
c Hayley Wernon
8 Beth Volante
7 Katherine Pedrick
6 Gabby Sanchez
5 Elizabeth Osmun
4 Lauren Dubose
3 Sarah Varvel
2 Lydia Koropeckyj-Cox
1 Rachel Nutter
Women’s 2x

1 Beth Volante
2 Katherine Pedrick

Women’s 1x
Lauren Dubose
Rachel Nutter
Men’s Novice 4+

c Billy Volante
4 Mike Barton
3 Mario Alverez
2 Sean Fitzgerald
1 Hayden Hughes

Women’s Novice 4+
c Sarah Varvel

4 Beth Volante
3 Katherine Pedrick
2 Gabby Sanchez
1 Lauren Dubose

Women’s 4x
4 Beth Volante
3 Katherine Pedrick
2 Gabby Sanchez
1 Lauren Dubose

Men’s Freshman 4+

c Mike Barton
4 Mario Alverez
3 Erich Zellmer
2 Otto Zettler
1 Henry Cole

Canal 54, Fellsmere Fl – The Gainesville Area Rowing varsity squads had a strong showing at the 3rd annual Opening Day Regatta on Saturday February 20, their first race of the spring season.  Conditions were ideal for the Henley style head-to-head racing, which pits 2 crews against each other over a 1,500 meter course with the winner advancing to race again in semi finals and ultimately a grand final to determine the winner of each event.
On the men’s side the Varsity 8 claimed silver in the grand final, coming in 2nd  against Belen Jesuit of Miami in a hard-fought race.  After losing a tough race in the opening round, the men’s 2nd Varsity 8 reversed their fortunes by winning their consolation race against Boone High School of Orlando.  In the 3rd Varsity 8 GAR advanced to the semi final before being out-stroked down the course by Lake Brantley Rowing Association of Orlando.
Women’s racing saw the Varsity 8 reclaim the Women’s V8 Opening Day Trophy for the 2nd year in a row in a close race against Lake Brantley that came down to the last 100 meters.  The women’s 2nd Varsity 8 also made it to the finals which saw GAR in another showdown with Lake Brantley.  In a back and forth dogfight down the course that saw both crews fighting for the lead, GAR came up  short, taking a silver medal with 2nd place overall.
Both men’s Head Coach Michael Moseley and women’s Head Coach Justin Burgess saw the racing as a good starting point for each squad to build on and develop from through the rest of the spring season.  Varsity rowers are back in action on Saturday, March 13 at the OARS Regatta on Turkey Lake in Orlando.

Lineups
Men’s Varsity 8
c Cullen Schiele
8 Peter Martin
7 Jared Futral
6 Ben Goldstein
5 Nate Cabrerra
4 Jacob Landauer
3 Paul Decker
2 Otto Zettler
1 Mike Cornwell
Womens Varisty 8
c Angela DiCarlis
8 Chirsty Driscoll
7 Geena Patton
6 Liz Gause
5 Megan McClenathan
4 Britta Forsmark
3 Abby Leonard
2 Grace Duffy
1 Bailey Stein
Men’s 2nd Varsity 8
c Kellen French
8 Carter McCormick
7 Billy Volante
6 Brandon Miller
5 Mario Alvarez
4 Brian Whitemack
3 Cullen Schiele
2 Alex Watson
1 Allen Wernon
Womens 2nd Varsity 8
c Rachel DeLoach
8 Catherine Sassano
7 Kara Averell
6 Beth Volante
5 Tessa Parker
4 Lizzie Watson
3 Catie Zellmer
2 Hayley Wernon
1 Alice Pauley
Men’s 3rd Varsity 8
c Kelsey Hatchitt
8 Jared Loerzel
7 Joe Pauly
6 John Nemenyi
5 Henry Cole
4 Hayden Hughes
3 Sean Fitzgerald
2 Arnov Gupta
1 Kellen French

Gainesville Area Rowing had a very successful weekend at The Hooch in Chattanooga, Tennessee!

We had at least eighteen entries over the weekend and our Youth Rowers and our Master Rowers made GAR very proud. The weather was excellent, and the community very welcoming and accommodating to all who attended, what ended up being a record attendance at The Hooch!

Our Youth Rowers placed First (Gold) in the Mixed Youth 8+ race! Our Masters placed First (Gold) in the Mixed Open 2X. Jen Figueroa, our Sculling Coach and Master Rower, received a Silver Medal in the Women’s Master 1X race and was only 3/10’s of one second from Gold! With some races having almost 50 entries (competitors) our Youth were within 30 seconds or less off of the first place time in some races. Great job!

With continued training, I am looking forward to a very successful end to the Head Racing season this Fall and an even more successful Sprint Season in the Spring! Coaches, thank you all for your dedication to this club and to our youth and their success!

And, well, we had quite an exciting trip home yesterday – one of our buses broke down and we had to combine two buses into one bus for a six hour ride home. I want to thank everyone for their understanding, cooperation, and their excellent sense of humor during this “crunch” in getting all of us home safely and not very late, considering the circumstances. Our “Novice” parents learned what it means to be GAR family – everyone was such a good sport about this and we got to know each other very well!

I want to thank everyone for all of their help this weekend setting up and taking down, serving at the food tent and dinners, and chaperoning the rowers and the halls on both nights. Thanks to Mike Driscoll for driving the food trailer up to Chattanooga and Nina and Tom Cornwell for organizing the food tent for the weekend. This is truly a team effort so thank you again, all of you, for your help with anything that was needed!

Ten GAR Masters and a couple of our friends took on the 5,000 meter course on the Tennessee River and lots of tough competition at the Head of the Hooch November 7th and 8th in Chattanooga, TN. The Hooch is the second largest race in the country and this year over 1,700 boats were entered.

Aside from an early morning nip to the air, the weather was great for racing and the venue was, as usual, beautiful. The area has been receiving heavy rainfall and the river was running very fast this year. The TVA did an excellent job of regulating flow so the event could be held but the current did present some challenges. Race officials did an exceptional job of keeping the events very close to the schedule while making allowances for the water conditions.

As a club, GAR Masters finished in a tie for 16th place out of 44 clubs entered.

Here’s how the nine GAR boats did:
Men’s Master 4X – 9th
Mixed Open 2X – Gold Medal
Mixed Master 2X – 21st
Women’s Championship 2X – 9th
Women’s Master 2X – 15th
Mixed Master 4X – 11th
Women’s AA-A-B 1x – Silver Medal and 13th
Mixed Master 8+ – 17th

Special congratulations are in order for Jen Figueroa. In the Mixed Open 2X she and Bill Griffith rowed to a gold medal. In the Womens’ Masters AA-A-B 1X, after having to return to the dock to replace her failed boat seat, followed by a draining row to get the to start line in time, Jen was still fastest on the water and, after handicap, finished second by a mere 3/10 of a second.

Also, congratulations to Coach Justin who rowed to a silver medal in the Men’s Master 8+.

It was a good year for GAR Masters at the Hooch. The team truly demonstrated the progress we have made over the last year. Next year everyone can expect more and faster boats from Gainesville. Something to look forward to!

The all points trophy for the 2009 GatorHead Regatta went to Gainesville Area Rowing for the 4th year in a row! Lake Brantley Rowing Association came in 2nd place and Orlando Area Rowing Society came in 3rd.

The full results for the 2009 GatorHead Regatta can be found here: Gatorhead 2009 Results

Thank you to all of our visiting teams: Bolles, Boone, Jacksonville, Lake Brantley, Lyman, Maclay, Melbourne, OARS, Power Ten, and ROCCS. I hope these teams enjoyed the competition and a beautiful day at Newnans Lake in Gainesville, Florida. We are looking forward to great competition again next year and finding out which team will take home the Gator Head trophy in 2010!

Thank you, too, to all of our sponsors who helped support this year’s Gator Head through either services or monetary support: Alachua County ARES/RACES, Gainesville Amateur Radio Society, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, APD, A.S.A.P. Screenprinting, Ashtin Communications, Captial City Bank, City of Gainesville, City Water LLC, Domino’s Pizza, Florida Food Service, Gainesville Amateur Radio Socity, Gainesville Sports Commission, and Capital City Bank. Special thanks to: Driscoll Engineering, Harwood Brick, Fringe Benefit Coordinators, P & J Marine, Publix Supermarkets, Larry Watts, GAR Alumnus, UF Rowing Club, GAR Masters, and GAR Parents and Rowers who have worked so hard to make this a successful regatta.

Stay posted – photos from the regatta will be posted here!

GAR’s presence was felt at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston today. This morning new GAR Master Andy Hogshead, in the Harvard Alumni Mens 8+, rowed to a 6th place finish in a field of 34 boats. Their raw time was 16:47.586, a mere 11 seconds from medaling. Way to row, Andy! Full results for this event can be found here: http://www.hocr-timing.org/results/19213.htm

This afternoon, in the Director’s Challenge Mixed Double, Jen Figueroa and Bill Griffith were the fastest on the water by more than a minute in the 22 boat event. They rowed the course in an unofficial time 18:54.679. After handicaps were applied their great row gave them a third place finish. Full results for their event can be found here: http://www.hocr-timing.org/results/14435.htm

Also, congratulations to GAR Alumi David Fette. David Fette is a 2009 Alumni Rower of GAR. David is currently attending Boston University and rowing with their college crew team. David and his crew raced against 46 other club boats and their boat came in 4th! Full results for this race can be found here: http://www.hocr-timing.org/results/14393.htm

Congratulations to Jen, Andy and David!