PENNSAUKEN TOWNSHIP, NJ – Horse races have photo finishes all the time, but rowing events rarely ever come down to fractions of a second. That is what happened in the Grand Finale of the MAAC Championship on Sunday.
 
Stetson's Varsity 8 crew was edged out by less than three inches, or .016 seconds, for the gold medal in the final race of the day by the crew from Marist College. The Red Foxes took home the overall MAAC title for a second straight year, winning gold in all three events.
 
For Stetson, the loss by a fraction of a second was disappointing, but Hatters' coach Katie Thurstin said the teams' efforts on Sunday were tremendous and the result of the last race has already sparked a fire among the rowers who will return next year.
 
"In my 20 years in rowing, I have never seen a race end that closely," Thurstin said. "Technically, Samantha Nivison was the first athlete across the line, but because their boat is longer than ours, their bow ball was across the line before we were.
 
"We were leading the entire race. In the last 500 meters they were able to close the gap. They had just enough time to catch us."
 
The final race capped a strong day of racing for the Stetson team which, just four years ago, finished ninth overall in the MAAC Championship. The Hatters finished third in the nine-team field this year and, were it not for a slightly longer boat, would have finished second, ahead of rival Jacksonville.
 
"It was a historic day with our finishes in all three events," Thurstin said. "It was an exciting day for us and has really lit a fire under our younger rowers. They are already looking ahead to next year and wanting to know what it is going to do to get us across the line first next year."
 
In each of the three events – Varsity 4, Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 8 – the Hatters finished second, behind Marist, in their morning heat races. The Stetson 4 finished 28.986 seconds behind the Red Foxes in their head. The second Varsity 8 finished 11.856 seconds behind Marist and the Varsity 8 was edged by 1.988 seconds in their heat.
 
In the afternoon Grand finales, the Varsity 4 crew – led by coxswain Ava Underdahl and crewed by Ashley Winans, Gianna Robinson, Grace Hunter and Rebecca Naser – finished fifth. Marist took the gold with a time of 7:58.042, just 2.104 seconds ahead of Jacksonville. Fairfield and Drake finished third and fourth respectively with Stetson fifth ahead of Sacred Heart.
 
Stetson's Second Varsity 8 crew – led by coxswain Regan Armstrong and crewed by rowers Chloe Sandy, Jordan Sagl, Melody Summers, Frances Del Toro, Brianna DeJoie, Madison Geib, Kara Mammola and Cailin Mitchell – finished third behind Marist and Jacksonville. Marist posted a time of 6:58.534 with the Dolphins second, 5.022 behind. The Hatters crossed the line 13.4 seconds behind the Red Foxes.
 
In the final race of the day, the Varsity 8 Grand Final, Stetson got out to a narrow early lead at the 500-meter mark. The Hatters pulled out to a half a boat-length lead near the mid-way point of the race with Jacksonville and Marist neck-and-neck for second and third. Marist was able to move away from JU, but Stetson still held the lead with 500 meters to go, but the Red Foxes were able to nip the Hatters at the line. The race came down to a photo finish, with Marist edging the Hatters by about three inches.
 
Stetson's Varsity 8 crew, which was led by coxswain Sarah Dittmann, was crewed by rowers Nivison, Sarah-Kate Rines, Karirose Engel, Channing Scott, Mallory Holland, Amanda Shaffer, Hannah Hardey and Germaine Smart-Marshall.
 
"All of our crews executed the plan to get to the finals and, once we got there, they put it all on the line," Thurstin said. "We have moved from ninth to third in four years, and that is an incredible accomplishment. Our seniors set our program on an incredible course over their four years and their efforts will felt in this program for many years to come."
 
Each of the three divisions in the Championship awards points on a sliding scale, with nine points for first in the Varsity 4, 18 points for first in the second Varsity 8 and 27 points for first in the Varsity 8. Stetson received 5 points for the Varsity 4 finish, 14 for the second Varsity 8 and 24 for the Varsity 8 for a total of 43 points. Marist was first with 54 points and Jacksonville was second with 45.
 
After the racing was completed, first and second team All-Conference squads were named. The Hatters placed two on each team with Nivison and Rines earning first team honors while Engel and Scott were selected to the second team. All four Stetson rowers are seniors.
 
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.