Greenwich Crew Top 5 in National Championships
Last weekend, 14 high school students from Greenwich raced for the gold at the US Rowing Youth National Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio. Greenwich Crew, the rowing program at Cos Cob’s Greenwich Water Club, raced in the men’s pair (Palmer Foote and Alex Buck), a men’s double (Matt Lonski and Greg Riddell), and a women’s lightweight eight (Julie Sussman, Kirsten Lunder, Lara Tiramani, Chelsea Oarr, Maddie Harrison, Sophie Grueterich, Marina Kaneko, Nicole Birkhold, Glaura Paiva (coxswain), and Whitney Lees (alternate)). The race hosted over 1600 athletes from more than 160 clubs and schools from across the country.
This was Greenwich Crew’s first of hopefully many attempts at the National Championships, but it was more than beginner’s luck that earned the men’s pair a 5th place finish. In an amazing race from start to finish junior Palmer Foote and sophomore Alex Buck proved that hard work and talent do pay off. Foote and Buck only began training in the pair, one of rowing’s most challenging boats, in early May. Foote and Buck have already set their sights on returning next year, with Buck vowing to win more than one national medal by the time he graduates.
The women’s lightweight eight rowed to an exciting finish in their final race. Only a photo-finish could tell that the girls were the first of three boats crossing the line in less then 7/10ths of a second, earning them 14th out of the nation’s top lightweight women’s boats. Coach Marko Serafimovski was thrilled with the girls’ performance. “With only one senior in this lineup, we expect to be back next year with even more experience and speed” said Serafimovski. “The girls worked hard and it’s been a pleasure coaching all of them. Senior Kirsten Lunder, who has been a leader on the team for several years, will attend Skidmore College in the fall.
The double of team captains Lonski and Riddell chose Cincinnati over their senior prom. This final race was the last hurrah for both before graduation. Lonski who will be attending Columbia University in the fall and Riddell will attend USC have both made major contributions to the Greenwich Crew program, helping to establish the team as a national competitor. Unfortunately, Lonski and Riddell could not control Mother Nature. Stormy weather forced US Rowing to change the progression of the regatta eliminating the repechages, which would have given the boat a second chance at making top 10 after drawing the strongest heat. The way the events played out, the double rowed to a top 15 finish to end their high school rowing career. Both Lonski and Riddell felt it was a great experience to row with the fastest boats from all over the country, one we have been working for all year.
“Rowing is increasing in popularity all over the country. The level of competition is always being raised and Greenwich Crew is ready to be a part of it,” says Branan. “One of the great parts of the sport is that you can start at almost any age. We have a fantastic middle school program that feeds our growing high school team and we have adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who are just beginning. It’s a life-long sport that benefits recreational participants and competitive rowers alike.”

Greenwich Crew Qualifies Two Crews for Youth Nationals

click here for results

In what would have been the culmination of a season where Greenwich Crew has established itself as a top contender in the junior rowing community, the Men’s 2-(pair) and Women’s Lightweight 8+ extended their seasons a little bit longer. Competing at the Northeast District Championships in Lowell, MA, both boats came up big in their races, qualifying them for USRowing Youth National Championships. The Men’s pair of stroke Palmer Foote and bow Alex Buck won their heat, posting the fastest time in their boat category and placing them in the center lane for the six-boat final. Facing fast boats from Community Rowing, Inc., Central Crew Club, Worchester HS, Cape Cod Rowing, and Fairfield Prep, Foote and Buck pulled away from the field finishing 7 seconds ahead of the next fastest boat. “Palmer and Alex really found themselves in the pair and it’s great to see their hard work paid off” said Chris Ives, Head Men’s Coach. “The boys took one of the hardest boats in rowing and made it look easy in less than three weeks. We are very proud of them,” said Ashlee Branan, Director of Rowing, who along with Ives has been working with Foote and Buck.
The Women’s Lightweight 8+ of Julie Sussman, Kirsten Lunder, Lara Tiramani, Chelsea Oarr, Ashley Rhodes, Marina Kaneko, Sophie Grueterich ,Nicole Birkhold, and coxswain Harriet Brock qualified for Nationals taking third in their final. Boston Latin School and Greenwich Crew were battling it out going down the race course with Greenwich maintaining at least a 1 seat lead the whole race. As the crews entered the last 150 meters Greenwich really showed their determination, taking 2 more seats before crossing the finish line two seconds ahead of Boston Latin. CRI and Concord HS bested Greenwich in the race, but the third place finish secured their invitation to Nationals.
The 1st Freshmen Boys’ boat raced in the 3rd Varsity Boy’s race. “The freshmen boys knew they would be facing crews who were older than them, but they were ready for the challenge,” said Coach Marko Serafimovski. “New Canaan beat our crew by less then a second but the guys showed they’re ready to take on tougher competition.” The 1st Freshmen Boys’ boat of Oliver Grueterich, Herbie Marache, Trevor Frey, Rich Caputo, George Miller, Lucas Colagrossi, Chris Warner, August Allocco, and coxswain Mallory Madfes took 2nd place in the final. A number of other Greenwich boats advanced to semifinals and finals in their respective races including :
Women’s Lightweight 4+ --Lunder, Tiramani, Sussman, Kaneko and cox Glaura Paiva FINAL
Men’s Youth 2x –
Matt Lonski, Greg Riddell FINAL
Nick Stewart, Sam Hagan FINAL
Women’s Youth 4+ -- Grueterich, Oarr, Grace Ingalls, Rhodes and Brock SEMIFINAL
Women’s Novice 8+ -- Hanna Bayer, Allie Shulman, Tori Gray, Jody Greene, Esther Lee, Whitney Lees, Kate Cooper, Victoria Meskers and cox Mary Rowley SEMIFINAL
Men’s Novice 8+ -- George Miller, Stephen LeBreton, Oliver Moore, Max Meyer, Vaughan Merrick, James Manganiello, Wolfgang Hofer, William Cecio and cox Sam Savitz SEMIFINAL

Greenwich Crew had a great season with strong performances at Mercer Sprints, Saratoga Invitational, and the Northeast District Championships. The program will be graduating 14 seniors: on the Girls’ side are Harriet Brock, Kirsten Lunder, Despina Petsagourakis, and Ashley Rhodes; on the Boys’ side are Jason Blom, Dan Lewis, Matt Lonski, Jamie Lyons, Liz Miller (coxswain), Greg Riddell, Tucker Risman, Amanda Rosa Di Sant (coxswain), Christian Rosier and Nick Stewart. “Each senior made their own special contribution to our program. Their commitment and dedication has helped to grow Greenwich Crew into the program it is today. These seniors made it possible for us to qualify boats at the National level. We wish them the best of luck!” said Branan.
The two boats qualifying for USRowing Youth National Championships will race in Cincinnati, OH on June 11th- 13th.

St. Luke’s Invitational - New Canaan, CT 5/02/2010

The Greenwich Crew freshmen teams competed in the St. Luke’s Invitational this past Sunday. Racing against varsity crews from New Canaan, St. Luke’s, Saugatauck, Kent and Fairfield Prep meant a tough day of competition. “Greenwich looked strong in a number of events and brought home some medals” according to Marko Serafimovski, Head Freshmen Boy’s Coach. The Women’s JV 4+ of Kate Cooper, Allie Shulman, Victoria Meskers, Esther Lee and cox Mary Rowley won their event with a time of 5:59. Greenwich entered three doubles in Men’s Varsity 2x event. Despite having limited practice time in doubles this year the Greenwich boats raced hard. Oliver Grueterich and Trevor Frey took 2nd place behind the Varsity 2x from New Canaan with the other two Greenwich doubles close behind.
The Novice 4+ events were where Greenwich really capitalized on the strength of their freshmen team. On the Boy’s side Greenwich took 1st and 2nd in the event. The Greenwich “A” boat of Herbie Marache, James Manganiello, Will Cecio, Chris Warner and cox Mallory Madfes navigated the course in a time of 5:42. The “B” boat of Wolf Hofer, Vaughen Merrick, John Oswald, Max Meyer and cox Sam Savitz took 2nd with a time of 5:53. “The Novice 4+ boats looked strong today, I was happy to see them perform well and reap the benefits of their hard work” said Serafimovski. On the Girl’s side, the Novice 4+ of Giulia Volterra, Whitney Lees, Linnea Ekholm, Nicole Annunziata and Kate Aiello took 1st. “All of the girl’s raced multiple times today, putting in great performances across the board” said Kate Coulter, Head Freshmen Girl’s Coach.

Click here for results

The Saratoga Invitational was hosted in Saratoga Springs, NY on Fish Creek 4/24 & 4/25/2010.

Greenwich Crew took 2nd place in the team competition against 42 other teams

and our boats had a number of great races. 

Click here for results
Saturday, April 24th

Sunday, April 25th

Click here for the press release.

4.10.2010 7th Annual  NYPPEX GREENWICH INVITATIONAL

Results

COMING SOON: SNAPFISH LINK FOR YOUR DOWNLOADING EASE

4/17/2010 Princeton, NJ – Greenwich Crew traveled to Princeton this past weekend to compete in the Mercer Lake Sprints/ ISA Sculling Championships. The rain held off for the day but the wind provided some tough rowing conditions for all crews. Despite the challenging water conditions Greenwich had some impressive finishes. The Women’s Lightweight 4+ of Julie Sussman, Kirsten Lunder, Lara Tiramani, Marina Kaneko, and cox Glaura Paiva took first place, 2 seconds ahead of Annapolis Junior Rowing Association. The Men’s Double of Greg Riddell and Matt Lonski took second place in their race, bested only by Saugatuck Rowing Club. Capping off the day the Women’s Lightweight 8+ of Sussman, Lunder, Tiramani, Maddie Harrison, Sophie Grueterich, Daphne Coty, Kaneko, Nicole Birkhold and Paiva coxing, took 4th place behind Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Merion Mercy Academy and Upper Arlington High School. “I am very impressed with how the girls rowed today” said Marko Serafimovski, Women’s Head Coach. “The water conditions only got worse as the day progressed and the hard work of our girls over the past week showed in their racing today”. Greenwich Crew will travel to Saratoga Springs, NY this coming weekend to compete in the Saratoga Invitational Regatta. With 37 teams planning on attending Greenwich will have a true test of where they stand in the Northeast junior rowing scene.

Complete results from Mercer can be found HERE.

Women’s Lightweight 4+ , 1st place

(Bow-Stern) Marina Kaneko, Lara Tiramani, Kirsten Lunder, Julie Sussman

(Not pictured: Coxswain Glaura Paiva)