Pioneer Navy has unlucky day at Governor’s Cup
Pre-race collision forced Varsity Eight to withdraw; Stimart okay after wreck

March 17, 2007
FELLSMERE, Florida — The Marietta College men's crew season did not have the start that the program expected as a pre-race accident prevented the Varsity Eight from competing at the Governor's Cup, hosted by the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), Saturday (March 17) on Canal 54.

After a solid week, which included over 250,000m of training, in Florida, the Pioneer Navy's Varsity Eight was anxious to face some competition. An unfortunate accident just before the race, however, resulted in one Pioneer rower—senior Zach Stimart (McLean, Va.)—being taken to the hospital and forcing Marietta to pull out of the Varsity Eight race. Marietta and Notre Dame were both practicing their starts near the starting line, when the boats collided. Stimart was initially struck by an oar and then the rigger as the Irish boat flipped over. No one was injured besides Stimart, who suffered severe bruising on his posterior.

The Pioneer Navy did compete in both the Freshmen Four and Junior Varsity Eight at the Governor’s Cup. The Junior Varsity Eight, which included freshman Mike Cress (Ventnor, N.J./Holy Spirit) at bow, sophomore Craig Ripski (Claymont, DE/Concord) in seat two, freshman Steven Little (Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet) in seat three, freshman John Porter (Potomac, Md./Walk Whitman) in seat four, freshman Kevin Wessler (Port Republic, N.J./Holy Spirit) in seat five, freshman Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) in seat six, freshman Mike Flanagan (Absecan, N.J./Holy Spirit) in seat seven, sophomore Austin McIntire (Parkersburg, W. Va./South) at stroke and freshman Rita McCoy (Lansdowne, Pa./Archbishop Prendergast) at coxswain, finished second behind Columbia University's Lightweight in its morning heat. The Lions finished the 2,000m race in 6:12.0, while the Pioneers crossed the line in 6:28.6. Marietta's second place finish sent it to the Petite Final, where the Pioneers (6:28.0) rowed to victory over FIT (6:32.4) and Columbia's 3rd Varsity Eight (6:38.6).

"The men definitely had a stronger race the second time on the water," said assistant coach JP Sekulich. "Overall, the boat accomplished the goals that it set at the beginning of the week. Finally getting on the water created an awareness that they can go fast and we will now look to continue our development in the weeks to come."

The Pioneer Navy's Freshmen Four featured Little at bow, Matthew Wilson (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) in seat two, Flanagan in seat three, Hazelrigg at stroke and Ester St. Clair (Coshocton/River View) at coxswain. The shell won its lone race of the day, finishing in 9:07.9, ahead of Columbia (9:16.5) and FIT (9:42.0) in second and third, respectively.

"The Freshmen Four overcame a shaky start, hit its rhythm midway through the course and looked solid as it crossed the line," said Sekulich. "It was a good race to start off the year."

Marietta will return to action Saturday (March 24), when it competes against Purdue University at the 52nd annual MC/Purdue Challenge Cup in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pioneers, in search of their sixth straight victory in the event, will realign their boats to account for the injured Stimart, who is expected to remain off the water until next week.