DELAND, Fla. – The Stetson rowing teams took to the water today in their first regatta of the spring season, as they faced teams from Florida and Merrimack. Conditions were harsh with 16-25mph winds.
"Thanks to Florida and Merrimack for making the trek to DeLand. Today's conditions were challenging with the strong winds but all of the crews handled it well," said Stetson head coach
Jamie Francis.
The Stetson women's team competed in 5 races, while the men's team raced Florida in a varsity 8+. The women's first varsity 8+ would come in at a time of 7:02, followed by the second varsity 8 at 7:07.5. Both boats were faster than the opposition as Florida would finish third and Merrimack who finished fourth.
In the novice varsity 8+ Stetson would best Florida as the Hatters finished with a time of 7:29.2 and the Gators came across the line at 7:50.4.
The first varsity 4+ saw Stetson finish with a time of 7:55.2, followed by Florida 8:14.4 and the Stetson DI 4+ 8:33.2.
The second varsity 4+ saw Stetson finish with a time of 8:16.4 then Florida finish at 9:15.4. In the novice 4+ race the Gators finished with a time of 8:22.1, followed by the Hatters at 8:43.8 and then the Warriors 9:52.8.
The Stetson men's only race was the varsity 8+ against Florida. The Hatters finished in 5:51.2, over twenty seconds faster than the Gators who crossed the line at 6:15.5.
Overall Stetson head coach was pleased as Francis said, "We had good results across the board and we have been able to identify some changes need to be made in order to get the most out of all of the boats. We have our largest home race of the season next weekend and I am looking forward to seeing what happens and looking to honoring our seniors."
Up next for the Hatters is another home regatta on March 16th, the DeLand Doubel Duals where Stetson will honor their seniors.
