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OCU Wins Head of the Hooch!

The final day of racing in Tennessee brought more success for the Stars with action in the single sculls. The Men started the day with Edgars Boitmanis placing 2nd in the Championship Single, behind USA athlete John Graves. Jimmy VonPeters held on for 4th place while red-shirting Drew McNichols placed 6th. Matt Maddamma continued his success at the Hooch with a win in the Men's Lightweight Single by 0.5 seconds. This was the Freshman's 4th Gold from 4 events. Meanwhile the Women joined the fun by placing 1st and 2nd in the Women's Lightweight Single. Kat Schiro edged out Jane Imfeld over the 5000m course and took the Gold. Later in the day there was more medals as the Men's JV eight won Silver in the Men's Open Eight.

Overall the weekend was capped off with OCU in 1st place for Overall Points Trophy, well ahead of the second placed Texas University. It is a remarkable effort by all athletes and a great milestone for OCU Stars during our historic 10th Season.

Congratulations go to all of the rowers and look forward to more success as we move into our Spring Competition starting in March at the Heart of Texas!

Head of the Hooch: 6 medals on the 1st Day

The Oklahoma City University Rowing team won three gold, one silver and two bronze in the first day of racing at the Head of the Hooch Regatta.

Men's Squad

The men won three of the five events they entered on the Tennessee River. In the Men’s Eight (8+), coxswain Jacob Fox (sophomore, Egg Harbor Township, NJ) led the eight men of Jimmy VonPeters (junior stroke seat from Chattanooga, TN), Jared Hooley (senior 7 seat from Eugene, OR), Edgars Boitmanis (sophomore 6 seat from Furmala, Latvia), Matthew Mahon (sophomore 5 seat from Chesterfield, MO), Ryan Claussen (freshman 4 seat from Manhattan, KS), Brock Turner (freshman 3 seat from Tulsa, OK), Matthew Maddamma (freshman 2 seat from Carnegie, PA) and CB Collier (freshman bow seat from Fairfax Station, VA) to a winning time of 15:10 followed by Rowing Newfoundland (15:37) and Vanderbilt University (16:08).

The men also took home the gold medal in the Men’s Open quad (4x). VonPeters, Hooley, Boitmanis and Madddamma rowed the course in a 15:40. Later in the day, Boitmanis paired with Maddamma to win the Championship Double (2x) in 16:51 beating their teammate, VonPeters. VonPeters paired with Oklahoma City (OKC) Riversport athlete Drew McNichols for the silver medal finish of 17:22. Tampa Rowing Club took third place.

Men’s Coach Cameron Brown said, “There is a lot of competition at the Head of the Hooch and being able to win in both sweep and sculling events points to the versatility of the athletes and the depth of the program.”

Women's Squad

The women won two bronze medals one the first day of racing in the two events they entered. The all-senior women’s four (4+) led by coxswain Briana Hurley (Oklahome City), Dinah Harjo (stroke seat from Norman, OK), Megan Duffy (3 seat from Bothell, WA), A. Rose Lane (2 seat from Tulsa, OK) and Katie Sondag (bow seat from Eugene, OR) pulled a time of 19:04 which was good enough to clinch the third place spot in a field of thirty-three crews. Emory University (18:33) and Rowing Newfoundland (18:42) finished first and second.

Junior scullers, Kathryn Schiro (stroke seat from Huntsville, AL) and Jane Imfeld (bow seat from Grapevine, TX) rowed the five kilometre course in 18:29, fifty-four seconds ahead of the fourth place University of Kansas crew. The University of Central Florida (18:19) and Duke University (18:27) took the top two spots.

Women’s Coach Melanie Borger, “This is the fourth year that OCU has travelled to and competed at the Head of the Hooch, so it has been a special race for our seniors. Winning that bronze medal has made it even more memorable. I am looking forward to watching everyone compete again tomorrow.”

Parents

A few hearty (it's cold here) and intrepid parents made the trip to Chattanooga to cook for and cheer on our rowers. The coaches would like to send a special thank you to Lucyann Harjo for helping to drive the bus, Julia Branch and Joe Hill for all the homecooked meals, Brad Claussen for our new banners, and the Mahons, Linda Robbins and Janet Puckett for all their on-site support.

The Stars rowing team will race in the singles (1x) and pairs (2-) events at the Head of the Hooch tomorrow. Check for our results at headofthehooch.org

Photos from the Devon Boathouse Christening

The Christening




The First Carry


A HISTORIC MILESTONE FOR OCU ROWING!

Tuesday Practice - Prep for the Hooch

OCU Head to the Hooch!

Only a few more days until the OCU Varsity team make there way to Chattanooga for the Head of the Hooch regatta on November 6 and 7. Entries in 1x, 2x, 2-, 4x, 4+ and 8+ will provide some great racing.

Watch out for our JV team as they head to their first "away" regatta in Wichita for the Frostbite Regatta.

Results on the weekend's racing will be posted next week.

Go Stars!