The Tiger Varsity 8 had a tremendous showing at the 2006 New York State Championships at Whitney Point. The Tiger Varsity 8 team earned the bronze medal in the championship, defeating a handful of Division I teams.
The men’s varsity 8 raced the heat on Saturday placing third behind Hobart and Army, guaranteeing them a spot in the grand final in lane six. Racing in the “Ruth Curtis Briggs” were cox’n, Nate Fukuwa, stroke seat, Travis Driscoll, seven seat, “Duke” Boneventura, six seat, Scott DeFisher, five seat, Eric Siewert, four seat, Jeremy Schiele, three seat, Derik Bibb, two seat, Matt Hebdon, and bow seat, Chris Frey.
In Sunday’s grand final, with 450 meters to go, the varsity men sprinted early from mid pack, holding off a charging Hobart College by a half a second and securing the bronze medal. Finishing first was Marist and second, Army.
“With 15 strokes to go I saw Hobart moving on us," said Tiger Head Coach Jim Bodenstedt. "Then I looked at our boat and saw Travis raise the stroke rate as high as the boat could go. I just thought, hold on guys, hold on. Honestly, from my angle, I thought we finished fourth. I sort of resigned myself to that. But I wasn’t on the finish line, and so when the announcement came over the PA announcing the finish, I felt an immense amount of pride. I knew the guys raced their best. They came into this weekend believing in themselves and they proved to the rowing community that they are a force to be reckoned with. Pound for pound they were the lightest crew on the water, but they raced with the biggest hearts. I couldn’t be prouder.”
