| 4/3/2006 1:47:58 PM
ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's crew team won two of three races against St. Lawrence on a cold and blustery Saturday morning at the RIT Boathouse on the Genesee River.
The RIT varsity eight won the most thrillng race of the day, coming from behind to win in a time of 6:01.70. The race came down to the last few strokes. The Tigers darted off the starting line and quickly established a three seat lead. The Saints gradually pulled even at the 1500 meter mark. The last 500 neither crew was backing down. With less than 100 meters to go, coxswain Justin Blum (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford) called for the stroke rate to go up 2 beats and the final power surge was on. Travis Driscoll (Aeru, NY/Seton Catholic) and his crew dropped the hammer exactly at the right moment and won by a boat deck, a half second lead. RIT finished with a time of 6:01.70. Saint Lawrence clocked 6:02.35.
Head Coach Jim Bodenstedt commented at the finish, “Wow, what a race! It doesn’t get much closer than that. The two crews battled it out stroke for stroke.” Coach Bodenstedt followed the race from behind in the officials launch and kept his eye on his gutsy stroke. “To be honest, when the wind picked up, I was worried. Saint Lawrence outweighs us by 15-20 pounds per man. We’re practically a lightweight crew and I could see how we were spinning our wheels a little bit, and how the Saints’ raw power kept them in the race. We had to row the stroke rate a little higher to stay in the hunt. And when the time came, however, Travis and the cox’n made the right move at the right time.” Bodenstedt added, “Travis may be the lightest guy in the boat, but he’s not going to back down to any heavy weight. I could see it in his eyes the whole way down the race course, he wasn’t going to let the Saints row through them. He kept his cool and kept his rhythm. We were able to execute on race day today because Travis is a leader during practices. And that’s what you want from your stroke – leadership. It makes all the difference in those really tight races.”
The men's varsity four won easily in 6:57.51 and St. Lawrence took the final race in 6:40.41.
The squad is back in action on Saturday, as they travel to Ithaca to compete at 9 a.m.
