Jacksonville, Fla. – The Stetson men's rowing team had little trouble in a pair of raced against Jacksonville on Saturday at the Negaard Rowing Center on the St. John's River near the Jacksonville University campus.
 
Despite dealing with motorboat traffic on the race line, the Hatters earned a victory by just more than two seconds in the first varsity race. The Hatters came across the finish line with a time of 6:15.4 with Jacksonville just behind, finishing in 6:17.7.
 
"After so many months off from racing, we were so grateful for all the people who made racing this weekend possible," Stetson assistant coach Ethan Shoemaker said. "Not least of those was the JU staff who did a great job setting everything up for us today. It was just unfortunate the river didn't cooperate.
 
"I thought both of our crews raced well today. The guys have put in a lot of work over the past year and it was just great to get to see them out there going at it. We have a lot more work to do, but we will get a few more chances to go down the course before the IRA." 
 
In the second varsity race, the Stetson crew had an easier time, besting a pair of JU boats. The Hatters finished the race in 6:26.8 with the JU boats crossing the line in 6:37.6 and 6:51.3.
 
"This weekend was a great way to start the season," Hatters' head coach Katie Thurstin said. "Stetson men's rowing had never beaten JU in a dual race. The team has put in a lot of work this year and have really overcome a lot of adversity together.  We look forward to getting back on the course this weekend."
 
The Stetson first Varsity 8 was led by coxswain Walter Klein. His crew included Grant Miller, Julian Wilberding, Jason Bersani, Benjamin Wierzbanowski, Lucas Quinby, Nicholas Jeske, Matthew Franks and Zayne Blackwell.
 
The Hatters' second Varsity 8 crew was led by coxswain Bennett Rossell. His crew was made up of Kaden Bowles, Campbell Cole, Vincent Leffler, Gabriel Laverde, Gavin Smiley, Dylan Anderson, Brian Smith and Matthew Clendening.
 
The Stetson rowers will return to action this coming weekend down in Sarasota for the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship. The event will be held at Nathan Benderson Park and will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday and conclude by 5 p.m. on Saturday.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.