PHILADEPHIA (Oct. 13, 2012) – In preparation for an aggressive Fall racing season, the Privateer men and women's crew team kicked off their season on Saturday, competing in the 26th annual NAVY DAY REGATTA. Coach Rick Smith stated, “The 2.5 mile head race would serve as a good warm-up for next week's Head of the Charles in Boston, and would include some of the better Division 1 and Division 2 Collegiate rowing programs in the mid-Atlantic region and over 2,000 athletes, racing in 50 different events.” The returning Varsity Men team's was entered in both the Men's Collegiate Lightweight Four and Heavyweight Four divisions, and were to double up for a second race that day by competing in the Open/Collegiate Varsity Eight; the Privateer Women were racing for their first time as a Varsity squad in the Collegiate Four division. Smith also decided to row a part of the Men's Novice squad (athletes in their first collegiate year of competitive rowing) to see how they would place. Below is a recap of the day.
 
Men's Collegiate Lightweight Four – The first race of the day was to start with one of the most anticipated races and saw the Privateers' Lightweight men – stroke Matt Thomas (Mathews, Va./Mathews) (Mathews, Va./Mathews), Mauricio Espinal (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore ) (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore), Brendan O'Connor (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown North ) (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown North), Mike Walsh (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep.) (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep.) and freshman coxswain James Hayes (Staten Island, N.Y./LaGuardia) (Staten Island, N.Y./LaGuardia), finish in a virtual tie for second against four lightweight crews from the Naval Academy, and crews from the University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware, Scranton University and Rutgers. The Privateers completed the race in 15:15.87, roughly nine seconds out of first place, and will be a team to contend with in the upcoming year.
 
Men's Collegiate Heavyweight Four – The Privateer Men competing in the Heavyweight Varsity category included stroke Tyler Ferris (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park), Devon Toscano (Millbrook, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes ) (Millbrook, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes), Peter Wojick (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) and Emery Eiber (Clevland, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) (Cleveland, Ohio/Saint Ignatius). Overall the boat finished 13th in a time of 15:56.57.
 
Men's Collegiate Novice Eight – The Novice Men started their day with a strong ninth place finish, out of a field of 22 ranked crews, including novice crews from the Naval Academy and West Point, and teams from Delaware, Drexel, St Joe's, LaSalle University, University of Pennsylvania and Penn State. Due to the increase in the number of experienced novice rowers participating on the team this year, this marks the first time in years that the team has both the depth and the ability to be competitive in this event. The Novice Men's boat – stroke John Howe (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga) (Saratoga, N.Y./Saratoga), Andrew Merz (Mathews, Va./Mathews), James Rainard (Silver Spring, Md./DeMatin) (Silver Spring, Md./DeMartin), Brian Sweeney (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor), Joseph Prevete (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Newfield), Zachary Dietrich (Point Pleasant, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy), Matthew Cabarrocas (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial), and Lucas Cabarrocas (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial), will be a dominant force this season, and a team to watch.
 
Men's Collegiate Novice Four – The Men's Novice squad competed later in the afternoon in an event that traditionally is one of our stronger categories – the Men's Novice Four. Maritime's “A” crew – stroke John Howe (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga), Andrew Merz, Joseph Prevete and James Rainard (Silver Spring, Md./DeMatin) placed seventh overall (out of a field of 19) and with a respectable time of 15:58.82. Maritime's “B” crew – stroke Matthew Cabarrocas, Zachary Dietrich, Brendan Haberin (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Iona Prep.) placed ahead of five other teams, including the two crews from West Point.
 
Women's Collegiate Varsity Four - Stroke Ann Boston (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes), Faye Dohring (Schenectady, N.Y./Niskayuna) (Schenectady, N.Y./Niskayuna), Mariel Vanderlinden (Queens, N.Y./Dominican Academy), Victoria O'Reilly (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) and coxswain Nelson Lenahan (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Peter's Prep.) (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Peter's Prep.) are starting their second season of rowing at Maritime, following a very successful Novice year. For a young crew, and one that now competes at the Open level, primarily against Division 1 and Division 2 colleges, the team has a challenging season ahead of them. The Privateers placed 16th in their race with a time of 19:17.01, and are expected to show great improvement in the weeks ahead.
 
        Complete results of the Navy Day Regatta will be posted at this link within the next week: https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/results.jsp?job_id=2425&org_id=0.
 
        Next week the Privateers are traveling to Boston, and will compete in the 48th Head of the Charles Regatta, a three mile race that is recognized as the largest intercollegiate competition in the country, and that will have over 5,000 competitors, from the U.S. and abroad. Maritime will be racing in both Men's Collegiate and Men's Club four events.
 
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