Stetson Men’s Rowing Wins Six Golds at FIRA Championships

Stetson men’s rowing made history over the weekend at the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships in Sarasota, winning six total state titles and earning the overall points trophy for the first time ever.

Stetson Men's Rowing
Stetson men’s rowing dominated at the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships in Sarasota, winning six state titles and earning the overall points trophy for the first time.

The Varsity 8+ team won its race, marking the first time that unit has captured a FIRA title. The only team to make the finals and not win a championship – the 4+ — captured a silver medal. In all, every one of the seven teams to reach the finals earned a medal.

“The guys had high expectations for themselves, and went into the season with the goal of winning the Varsity 8+ and overall points at this regatta,” Stetson assistant coach Ryan Worth said. “Winning the eight at all was a huge accomplishment for this program, but to have done so by only .07 seconds made it the most stressful race I’ve ever watched. I’m extremely proud of the rowers in our crew and theirs, and look forward to seeing the squad from UF again at the regional championship. They’re a class act, and winning over them in a race like that makes the accomplishment even more meaningful for our guys.”

Not only did the Hatters dominate the FIRA championships as a team, but senior Andrew Rouse captured 1x title for the fourth consecutive year. Teammate Joey Jacobsen finished third.

“We have only one senior, and it was a particularly notable day for Andrew,” Worth said. “In addition to stroking the varsity 8+ and varsity 4+, he won the single for the fourth year in a row and that alone is certainly worth celebrating. In his time here, he’s helped raised the bar with his teammates and watched us go from being a program that might pick up wins in a few small boats, to being serious contenders across the field of events. In fact, our A entries finished first or second in every single event we entered. That kind of excellence was essential to also winning the team points trophy, and I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”

FIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Results & Lineups
Winners of the Men’s Total Points Trophy (First in Program History)

Varsity 8+
1st Place – 6:17.4
Anand Dwivedi – Cox
Andrew Rouse – 8
Nick Hall – 7
JT Lamon – 6
Xavier Mulligan – 5
Jayce Jimenez – 4
Zachary Ewing – 3
Nick Catalanotto – 2
Timmy Lancaster -1

Men’s 2- (A)
1st Place – 7:33.0
Jayce Jimenez – 2
Xavier Mulligan – 1

Men’s 2- (B)
6th Place – 8:23.1
Matt Cranston – 2
John Levee – 1

Men’s 1x (A)
1st Place – 8:00.1
Andrew Rouse

Men’s 1x (B)
3rd Place – 8:32.1
Joey Jacobson
Men’s Junior Varsity 4+
1st Place – 7:20.0
Erica McCaughey – Cox
David Keener – 4
Alex Levin – 3
Robert Matyskiel – 2
Anand Dwivedi – 1
Men’s 2x
1st Place – 7:52.5
Nick Catalanotto – 2
Joey Jacobson – 1

Men’s Freshman 4+
1st Place – 7:09.7
Laura Phelan – Cox
Ryan Carmody – 4
Nick Hall – 3
JT Lamon – 2
Timmy Lancaster -1

Men’s Varsity 4+
2nd Place – 7:01.4
Cat Keve – Cox
Andrew Rouse – 4
Xavier Mulligan – 3
Jayce Jimenez – 2
Zachary Ewing – 1