Pioneer Navy finishes second in college division at Head of the Genesee
Marietta's varsity eight places eighth overall

Oct. 12, 2008
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Marietta College men's crew continued its 2008 fall season Sunday (Oct. 12) when the Pioneer Navy sent its varsity eight to the 20th annual Head of the Genesee Invitational Regatta at Genesee Valley Park. The event featured numerous collegiate teams from the Northeast United States and Canada.

The Head of the Genesee, formerly know as the Stonehurst Invitational, draws top competition due to its unique regatta format. In the morning, crews competed over a three-mile head race course. In the afternoon, crews were paired based on their head race results, for a 1,500-meter sprint race. A formula helped determine the final placement of each boat.

Head Coach Chris Pucella sent out the same varsity eight lineup as the one that placed first at last week's Challenge on the Canal in Geneva, N.Y. The shell featured senior stroke Mitch Paskawych (Marietta), freshman James Smith (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit), sophomore Devin Turley (Herndon, Va./Westfield), sophomore Zach McGurk (Alexandria, Va./Bishop O'Connell), freshman Ethan Shoemaker (Westerville/North), sophomore Daniel Bratton (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), junior Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), junior bow Mike Flanagan (Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit) and sophomore coxswain Thomas Dougherty (Lansdowne, Pa./Monsignor Bonner).

The Pioneers opened the morning with an eighth place finish in the three-mile head race. Marietta, who was the second-fastest collegiate crew, covered the course in 15:52. Brown had the top two boats with "A" crossing the line in 14:56 and "B" coming in with a time of 15:07. Ithaca was the first collegiate crew to finish; the Bombers took sixth overall with a time of 15:43. The top teams held their positions in the afternoon's 1,500-meter sprint race, giving Marietta an eighth place finish overall—second in the collegiate division—in the final standings.

"I thought our men raced as a solid unit again this week," Pucella said. "They are disappointed in their overall finish, but as we continue to make minor adjustments and build up our stroke rate, we will begin to see faster times on the water."

Marietta's varsity crew will not compete again until the Pioneers participate in the Frostbite and Bill Braxton Regattas in Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 8-9. The freshmen rowers will travel to Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 1 to race against other freshmen/novice boats at the Virginia Invitational.