Winning Dad Vail gold on the mind of Pioneer Navy this weekend
Varsity Eight seeded first in 27-boat field

May 10, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Pioneer Navy's Varsity Eight is hungry for a Dad Vail gold medal. Marietta, who has won a bronze medal in each of the last four years, will have another opportunity to obtain that coveted prize this weekend, as the 68th annual Dad Vail Rowing Championships are held Friday and Saturday (May 12-13) on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pa.

Head Coach Chris Pucella, who is in his first season with Marietta College, has prepared his squad for the challenge, concentrating on conditioning, drills and fundamentals — all necessary if they want to snap a 38-year drought at the prestigious event.

Marietta is a five-time champion at the regatta, but has not brought the trophy back to the Mid Ohio Valley since 1967. The Pioneers won the inaugural race in 1934 and had victories in 1963 and 1966. Marietta is one of only two schools, Manhattan being the other, to bring crews to each of the past 67 races.

For the second straight season, Marietta's Varsity Eight, which features bow Zach Stimart (McLean, Va.), Evan Tsourtsoulas (Kastoria, Greece), Chase Graham (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South), Andrew Norris (Dublin/Dublin Scioto), Karl Biermann (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary), Mike Ross (Fairport, N.Y.), Eric Dowler (Washington, W.Va./Parkersburg South), stroke Chuck Geyer (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) and coxswain Tim Rinehart (Marietta), have earned the top seed in the event. Temple is seeded second, while Jacksonville is third.

Michigan won the title in 2005 as the second seed with Florida Tech taking the silver.

There are 27 entries into the Varsity Eight and five heats. The winner of each heat advances to the semifinals, with the last eliminated and the rest advancing to the repechages.

The Pioneers will face George Mason, Santa Barbara, Notre Dame, Loyola and Florida in their opening heat Friday at 10:09 a.m.

"The Varsity Eight is coming off a great scrimmage with Virginia in Charlottesville over the weekend," said Pucella. "The guys had really good pieces and good results. They are focused, determined and anxious to get the racing started. We are as well prepared as we can be at this point, and I am looking forward to a great weekend."

Marietta's Lightweight Four, which includes John Carlon (Winter Park, Fla.), Mitch Paskawych (Marietta), Austin McIntire (Parkersburg, W.Va./South), Dave Himes Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) and coxswain Sarah Kozusko (Whitney, Pa./Greater Latrobe), is coming off a third place finish in the Heavyweight Four at MACRAs and is anticipated to be one of the top crews in the 27-boat field.

The Pioneers, who race in the third heat of the event at 2:14 p.m., will take on Duke, Georgia State, San Diego, and Boston College.

The Pioneer Navy also has a Heavyweight Pair looking for gold at Dad Vails. The duo of Justin Callaham (Winter Park, Fla.) and Brent Keuch (Skillman, N.J./Christ Church) will be one of the featured pairs and take on Notre Dame, N.Y. Maritime, Boston College, Grand Valley and Susquehanna in its opening heat at 9:27 a.m.

Marietta's Freshman/Novice Four will also compete this weekend. The shell, which features Craig Ripiski (Claymont, Del./Concord), Nick Brown (Cincinnati/St. Xavier), Joe Linke (Woodlyn, Pa./Monsignor Bonner), Brian Casto (Marietta) and coxswain Lydia Easterling (Tallmadge), have been working with assistant coach Matt Hoffer to improve its last 1,000m and are expected to make a strong showing at this year's event. The F/N Four will take on Merchant Marine, Temple, Dayton and Vermont in its opening heat at 12:15 p.m.

"We expect another large group of MC Alumni in Philadelphia to support the guys this weekend," said Pucella. "We expecting to give all of them a great show."