Pioneer Navy set for SIRA Championship
Women's Varsity Four will join the men this weekend

Apr. 20, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Pioneer Navy is back in action this weekend (Apr. 21-22) to compete at the 40th annual Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship, which is raced on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

A year ago, Marietta's Varsity Eight was the top seed and finished runners-up to Virginia. This season, the Pioneers are seeded fifth in a 20-boat field. The competition is stiffer than ever with Temple, UCLA and St. Joseph joining the traditional field, which includes Virginia and Purdue.

Marietta's Varsity Eight lineup will be the same as it was at the George Washington Invitational. Senior Zach Stimart (McLean, Va.) is at bow with sophomore Mitch Paskawych (Marietta) in seat two, senior Chase Graham (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) in seat three, senior Jon Carlon (Winter Park, Fla.) in seat four, sophomore Andrew Norris (Dublin/Dublin Scioto) in seat five, senior Mike Ross (Fairport, N.Y.) in seat six, senior Eric Dowler (Washington, W.Va./Parkersburg South) in seat seven, senior Chuck Geyer (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) at stroke and sophomore Lydia Easterling (Tallmadge) at coxswain.

While the Pioneers officially had a week off from competition, they did have a very successful scrimmage Drexel at home Saturday (Apr. 14) morning.

"We are really excited for the weekend," said Head Coach Chris Pucella. "The crew really started to come together over the last two weeks. We will also have our new boat back, which should helps us knock off a few key seconds against the difficult field."

Marietta is slated to go head-to-head with fourth-seeded UCLA and 12th-seeded Texas as well as Michigan State and Dayton in the fifth and final heat of the morning. The race should begin at 11:51 a.m. The Pioneers will also compete in a semifinal Saturday evening with the finals scheduled for Sunday morning.

Marietta's Junior Varsity Eight, which features 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, will also compete at SIRAs.

"Coach (JP) Sekulich and I really like how the JV Eight has been moving of late," said Pucella. "The guys have been practicing with the Varsity Eight, feeding off each other, and we hope to see positive results this weekend."

The JV shell will race in the first of two heats Saturday at 4:30 p.m. It will take on Florida, Georgia Tech and St. Joseph, while Purdue, Virginia, Temple and Jacksonville will race in heat two. The top three will advance directly to the A Final, while the others will race in the B Final. Both take place on Sunday morning.

The men will have some company this weekend, as the women's Varsity Four was a late entry. The shell, which is coming off a huge win at the Knecht Cup on Saturday (Apr. 24), will feature sophomore Anjouli Dapice (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) at bow, junior Meg Foraker (New Lexington/Culver Academy) in seat two, Caitlin Piotrowski (Dublin/Dublin Jerome) in seat three, junior Kim Becker (Egg Harbor, N.J.) at stroke and freshman Lauren Talasnik (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest) at coxswain. The Ladies are scheduled to race Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Murray State and Davidson in the third of five heats on Saturday at 9:54 a.m. There also semifinals and finals set later in the competition for those that advance.