Orange Sports Spotlight Archive - Syracuse University Athletics

1999-2000 Crew Orange Sports Spotlight

Oct. 9 | Oct. 16 | Oct. 23 | Oct. 30 | April 2

April 2, 2001

The Syracuse men’s crew team opened its 2001 spring season on the waters of the Charles River in Boston, Saturday, March 31, against Boston University. It continued its weekend competition in Providence, RI on Sunday, April 1, against Brown University.

Varsity Eight Outraces Boston
The Orange varsity eight opened its spring season by defeating Boston University. The SU eight finished in a time of 6:08.85, more than seven seconds faster than Brown (6:16.26). Team captains Joshua Stratton (Hyde Park, NY) and Matt Heumann (Burnt Hills, NY) rowed in the sixth and fifth seat, respectively. Karl Sudar (Springfield, VA) served as the stroke and Kevin Boyle (Emmaus, PA) was the bow.

SU Places Two Eights In Junior Varsity Race
The Orange's JV eight was victorious against Boston University with a time of 6:11.36. Peter Romano (East Amherst, NY) served as the coxswain, while sophomore John Merzig (Albany, NY) was the stroke. SU's second JV eight, which had Jamie Byrnes (Medford, MA) as the bow and Bill Schmidt (San Bernandino, CA) in the second seat, placed second in the JV eight race with a time of 6:17.51. Brown’s JV boat took second place.

Freshman Crews Split Races
The SU freshman crews won one race against Boston. In the freshman four, Syracuse defeated BU with a time of 7:31.02. The BU freshman four crossed the finish line with a time of 7:34.19. Will Villon (Los Angeles, CA) engineered the first-place showing from the coxswain position. In the first freshman eight race, SU placed third. Harvard won the race and BU came in second. SU finished with a time of 6:27.33, more than 11 seconds behind Harvard's time.

Varsity and JV Eights Outpaced by Brown
The SU varsity eight finished second to Brown. The Bears top eight finished the course in 5:31.1. SU crossed the finish line in 5:44.0. The coxswain for the Orange's varsity eight was Eric Miller (Syracuse, NY). The captains, senior Josh Stratton (Hyde Park, NY) and junior Matthew Heumann (Burnt Hills, NY) rowed in the sixth and fifth seats, respectively. In the JV eight SU finished in 5:50.8, 14-plus seconds behind Brown's 5:35.6 finish. John Merzig (Albany, NY) was the stroke and Matt Costigan (Wexford, PA) was the bow in SU's second-place boat.

Orangemen Place Second in the Third Varsity Race
Syracuse sandwiched itself between two Brown boats in the third varsity race. Abe Yoffe (Baltimore, MD) coxswained the boat that came in with a time of 6:03.3. Brown's third varsity took first place in the race with a 5:55.3 time, while Brown's fourth varsity came in third with a time of 6:14.1.

Freshman Crews Finish Behind Brown
In the freshman eight race at Brown, Syracuse finished 13 seconds behind Brown. SU crossed the finish line in 5:55.9 and Brown finished in 5:42.9. In the freshman four race, Brown finished with a time of 6:43.3 and SU followed with a time of 7:06.1.

Orangemen Challenge Rutgers for Ten Eyck Cup
Syracuse’s next race on the schedule is a home meet with Rutgers on April 13. The winner of the varsity eight will claim the Ten Eyck Cup. This spring marks the 15th competition for the trophy, which SU has won the last four times.

Oct. 30, 2000

Varsity Four Wins Head of the Schuylkill
The men's crew team had two boats finish in first place at the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia on Saturday, Oct. 28. In a 48-boat race, the men's varsity four finished first with a time of 14:46.1. The top-place showing is the first-ever for a Syracuse varsity four at the Head of the Schuylkill. Peter Romano (East Amherst, NY) served as the coxswain, Andy Berster (Sarasota, FL) was the stroke and John Merzig (Albany, NY) was the bow. Chris Liwski (Sarasota, FL) was in the third seat and Kevin Klein (Drexel Hill, PA) rowed in the second seat.

Club Eight Earns Victory
For the first time since 1990, Syracuse's second eight captured first place in the club eight race at the Head of the Schuylkill. Abe Yoffe (Baltimore, MD) was the coxswain, Sean Ring (Hyde Park, NY) was the stroke and Scott VandeVusse (Grosse Pointe, MI) was the bow in the boat that finished with a time of 13:32.3 in the 34-boat competition. Rowing in seats two through seven were: Andy Johnson (Oak Ridge, TN), Matt Costigan (Wexford, PA), Brian White (Marlboro, MA), Mike Grynirk (Easton, MA), Matt Scott (Millbrook, NY) and Pat Mahardy (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool).

Orangemen Varsity Eight Claim Third
In the championship eight contest, the Orangemen's varsity eight placed third, which is the best showing ever by a Syracuse varsity eight in the championship race at the event. Eric Miller (Syracuse, NY/Henninger) was the coxswain, Karl Sudar (Springfield, VA) was the stroke and John Stephanik (Marietta, OH) was the bow in the boat that finished with a time of 13:07.8. In seats two through seven for the Orange were; Jason Bourcier (Greenland, NH), Kevin Boyle (Emmaus, PA), Jay Abbott (Augusta, ME), Steve Boselli (Bedford, NH), Josh Stratton (Hyde Park, NY) and Matt Heumann (Burnt Hills, NY), respectively.

Orangewomen Win Varsity Eight
Syracuse had a boat finish first in the championship eight and a boat place second in the club eight at the Head of Schuylkill in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 28. In the championship eight the Orangewomen finished with a time of 14:37.0. In the 2.75-mile head race, Syracuse collided with Pennsylvania's boat twice and finished the contest with a hole in their boat. Heather Diloreto (East Amherst, NY) was the coxswain, and Jillian Kott (McLean, VA) was the stroke and captain. Kathryn Modolo (St. Catharines, Ontario) was the bow on the first-place boat. Froujke Wegman (Haastrect, The Netherlands), Helen Tanger, (Amstelveen, The Netherlands), Nicole Garafalo (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Rachael Kirchhoff (Juneau, AK), Alicea Kochis (Naugatuck, CT) and Meredith Kyle (Rochester, NY) rowed in seats two through seven, respectively. In Philadelphia, the varsity eight finished 12 seconds ahead of Michigan State. The Spartans finished two seconds ahead of the Orangewomen at last year's NCAA championship.

Orangewomen Club Eight Places Second
The second eight for the Orangewomen placed second in the club eight contest with a time of 15:30.3. In a boat that was made up of sophomores, Erin Gallagher (Upper Darby, PA) served as the coxswain, Nicole Kuczek (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) was the stroke and Bonnie Chapman (Gainsville, FL) was the bow. Sarah Friguletto (Scotia, NY), Morgan Welch (Still River, MA), Lesley Wolf (Syracuse, NY/Henninger), Angelique Darling (Brockville, Ontario), Seana Miller (West Redding, CT) and Shannon Mercurio (Saranac Lake, NY/) rowed in seats two through seven, respectively.

Oct. 23, 2000

School History for Orangewomen Rowing Team
On Sunday, at the world's largest regatta, the rowing team had boats finish in fifth place in two races. Finishing fifth, with a time of 17:01.7, the Orangewomen's varsity eight boat had the school's best-ever showing in the championship eight race at the Head of the Charles. Heather DiLoreto (East Amherst, NY) served as the coxswain in the boat that finished seven places ahead of last year's NCAA champion, Brown University. Alicea Kochis (Naugatuck, CT) was the stroke and captain, Kathryn Modolo (St. Catherine's, Ontario) was the bow on the boat that finished third among all colleges that raced in the 57-boat contest. Froujke Wegman (Haastrect, The Netherlands), Helen Tanger, (Amstelveen, The Netherlands), Seana Miller (West Redding, CT), Rachael Kirchhoff (Juneau, AK), Jillian Kott (McLean, VA) and Meredith Kyle (Rochester, NY) rowed in seats two through seven, respectively.

Freshmen Post Fifth-Place Finish
Syracuse's freshmen four finished with a time of 20:36.4, which placed them fifth in the youth four at the Head of the Charles. Rowing in seats two and three were Whitney Hosea (Princeton, NJ) and Juliet Bonczkowski (Berkeley, CA), respectively. Marisa Begley (Folsom, NJ) was the coxswain, Courtney Meek (Denver, CO) was the stroke and Katie Mealer (Oak Ridge, TN) was the bow.

Orangemen Claim Top-10 Finish
At the Head of the Charles, on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21-22, the crew team had boats place sixth in the championship four and eighth in the club eight. In the championship four, Syracuse's varsity four placed sixth and had the second-best time among college teams. Brown University was the only collegiate team to best the Orange's 17:25.3 time. Taking the top four spots were national or elite level training teams. Peter Romano (East Amherst, NY) served as the coxswain, Andy Berster (Sarasota, FL) was the stroke and John Merzig (Albany, NY) was the bow. Chris Liwski (Sarasota, FL) was in the third seat and Kevin Klein (Drexel Hill, PA) rowed in the second seat. In the youth four, Syracuse's freshman four finished 15th with a time of 19:14.2. The Orangemen are protesting a one-minute penalty they received for contacting another boat's oar. Without the one-minute penalty, Syracuse would place sixth in the contest.

Club Eight Finishes Eighth
In the only Saturday race that Syracuse competed in, the Orangemen finished eighth in the club eight race with a time of 16:11.4. In the 71-boat race, Syracuse had the second-best showing among college teams, finishing a half-second behind Northeastern. Abe Yoffe (Baltimore, MD) was the coxswain, Sean Ring (Hyde Park, NY) was the stroke and the bow was Pat Mahardy (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool H.S.). Rowing in seats two through seven respectively were Andy Johnson (Oak Ridge, TN), Brian White (Marlboro, MA), Doug Shaw (Philadelphia, PA), Scott VandeVusse (Grosse Pointe, MI), Matt Scott (Millbrook, NY), and Mike Gryniuk (Easton, MA). On Sunday, Syracuse's varsity eight finished with a time of 15:25.20, which placed them 14th in the 55-boat championship eight race.

Oct. 16, 2000

Rowing Competes At Stonehurst Invitational
In their first competition since their ninth-place finish at the NCAA championships in May the rowing team finished first of 12 boats in the open four race at the Stonehurst Invitational in Rochester, NY on Oct. 15. In the first place boat was the coxswain Marisa Bagley (Folsom, NJ), the bow Angelique Darling (Brockville, Ontario) and the stroke Nicole Garofalo (Liverpool, NY). Libby Graves (Holden, MA) was in the second seat and Meredith Kyle (Rochester, NY) rowed in the third seat. The Orangewomen had a boat place second of 28 boats in the open eight race of the regatta. In the first eight boat Heather DiLoreto (East Amherst, NY) was the coxswain, while Helen Tanger (Amstelveen, The Netherlands) was the bow and Alicea Kochis (Naugatuck, CT) was the stroke. Froujke Wegman (Haastrect, The Netherlands), Seana Miller (West Redding, CT), Lesley Wolf (Syracuse, NY), Rachael Kirchhoff (Juneau, AK), Jillian Kott (McLean, VA) and Kate Modolo (St. Catherine's, Ontario) rowed in seats two through seven, respectively. The team also had a boat finish sixth in the open four and seventh in the open eight.

Crew Varsity Four Takes Third at Stonehurst Invitational
On Oct. 15, at the Stonehurst Invitational in Rochester, NY the varsity four finished in third place out of 11 boats, while the freshmen four finished fifth. In the first four boat for the Orange, Peter Romano (East Amherst, NY) was the coxswain, Kevin Klein (Drexel Hill, PA) was the bow and Josh Stratton (Hyde Park, NY) was the stroke. John Merzig (Albany, NY) was in the second seat and Steve Boselli (Bedford, NH) rowed in the third seat. In the open eight competition, the varsity eight placed fifth of 31 boats and the freshman eight finished 13th out of 31 boats. In the first eight boat, Eric Miller (Syracuse, NY) was the coxswain, Sean Ring (Hyde Park, NY) was the bow and Karl Sudar (Springfield, VA) was the stroke. Jason Bourcier (Greenland, NH), Kevin Boyle (Emmaus, PA), Chris Liwski (Sarasota, FL), Matt Heumann (Burnt Hills, NY), Jay Abbott (Augusta, ME) and Andrew Berster (Sarasota, FL) rowed in seats two through seven, respectively.

Oct. 9, 2000

Mens Crew Team Opens Fall Season with Victory
The Syracuse men's novice eight won a three-mile straight race at the Head of the Erie on Oct. 8 in Rome, NY. The boat, participating in its first race of the 2000-01 season, finished first with a time of 16:51.3. Colgate was second with a time of 18:25.6 The men's crew team will next be in action on Oct. 15 when it competes at the Stonehurst Invitational in Rochester, NY.