Temple University Athletics
Owls Win Two Gold Medals At SIRA Regatta
4.22.07 | Men's Crew
April 22, 2007
OAK RIDGE, TN - The Temple Men's Crew team's first-ever appearance at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Assoc (SIRA) Regatta was a memorable one. The 22nd-ranked Owls qualified all four of their boats into Sunday's final round in the two-day regatta held on Melton Lake with the Second Varsity 8 and Freshman/Novice 4 winning gold medals.
In perhaps the most exciting race at the SIRA Regatta, the Second Varsity 8 came from a quarter-length back with 200 meters remaining to defeat Virginia by eight0-tenths of a second in a photo-finish victory.
The Men's Second Varsity 8, comprised of Sam Cunningham (stroke), Timothy Malloy (7), Bill Gennaro (6), Matt Hanlin (5), Cyrus Haines (4), Joseph Welsh (3), Chris Bushek (2), Chris Schwartz (bow) and Thomas Goldner (coxswain).
In the varsity 8 competition, the third-seeded Owls were one of two boats (top-seeded and #18 Virginia) to win both of their quarterfinal and semifinal heats. Five hundred meters into the race it was five boats across with UCLA, coached by Temple alum Paul Mokha, holding a slight lead.
Virginia made its move and took the lead at 600 meters. As the crews approached the midway point (1000 meters), Temple and Virginia began to draw away from the field with the Cavaliers holding half-length lead. Virginia held off the hard-charging Owls by 2.6 seconds for the victory.
Freshman Patrick Curran stroked the Varsity 8 that was comprised of Robert Protesto (7), Dante Cammarata (6), James Harding (5), Peter Gostling (4), Nick Vlahos (3), Thomas Haubrich (2), Don Powers (bow) and Rory Roberts (coxswain).
The Varsity 4, comprised of Michael Berger (coxswain), Brendan Uhll (stroke), Eric Alexander (3), James Beebe (2) and Richard Moore (bow), placed seventh in its final.
The gold-medal-winning Novice 4 was comprised of Tom Masterson (stroke), Pat Welsh (3), Brendan Cunningham (2) and Scott Herring (bow).
The Owls take on Georgetown on the Schuylkill River next Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
