OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The No. 2 Nova Southeastern University rowing team competed in a two-day regatta this weekend, April 16-17, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.

This weekend’s regatta featured some of the best crews in the nation. The Sharks advanced four boats to Sunday’s finals and captured three second-place finishes.

“The team had the best SIRA regatta in the program’s history” said head coach John Gartin. “It was fantastic to see the whole team, four boats, in their respective grand finals. Three second place finishes is the best series of results that we have ever had at SIRA.”

Day one of the regatta set the tone for NSU, placing in the top three of three heat races and semi-finals while advancing all four boats to the finals.

The four-time Sunshine State Conference Boat of the Week Varsity 8 crew of coxswain Elizabeth Tortorici (Fr., Winter Park, Fla.), Alyssa O'Donnell (Jr., Ballston Spa, N.Y.), Lauren Boudreau (So., Waterford, N.Y.), Jessica Sutter (Jr., Miami Beach, Fla), Abigail Schiavo (Fr., Northfield, N.J.), Catherine Plesko (Fr., Brandon, Fla.), Claire Kurlychek (Jr., Land O' Lakes, Fla.), Taylor Van Horn (Fr., Cape Coral, Fla.) and Mallorie Reinecke (Jr., Buffalo, N.Y.) pulled across the line a commanding 20.25 seconds ahead of the nearest crew from Texas. Their finishing time of 6:50.30 marks the fourth fastest time for the Varsity 8 this spring season.

The Varsity 8 advanced to the semi-finals by taking a first place finish against highly ranked national competition, competing against nationally ranked No. 5 Barry University, No. 6 Mercyhurst College and No. 7 Florida Tech. The Sharks had a finishing time of 6:46.10 which notched their season’s third fastest time.

Continuing the success for the Sharks was the Novice 8 of coxswain Courtney Berger (Fr., Stratford, N.J.), Victoria Cicconee (Fr., Brigantine, N.J.), Emily Harrington (Fr., Virginia Beach, Fla.), Deonnah Findley (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn), Jennifer McDaniel (Fr., Deland, Fla.), Nicole Mesa (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Heather Reese (Fr., Charlston, S.C.), Caitlin Mooney (Fr., Centerville, Mass.) and Dayna Triana (Fr., Homassa, Fla.). In a very tight race the Novice 8 claimed a first-place finishing time of 7:58.40 which was only a 0.42 second split difference from the crew of Miami of Ohio.

The Novice 8 excelled once again Saturday afternoon in their semifinal race, capturing a second place finishing time of 7:11.05 which was a five second spilt between the first-place boat of Ohio State.

The third heat of the day for the Sharks included the Varsity 4 of coxswain Marissa Stickles (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.), Heather Higbee (So., Ocean View, N.J.), Amber Morrell (So., Brigantine, N.J.), Sarah Patterson (So., Winter Park, Fla.) and Kayla Wieseckel (Jr., Roswell, Ga.). Rolling off the success of the Novice 8, the Varsity 4 also captured a first place finish in their first heat. The V4 pulled in a finishing time of 8:04.26 seconds, 10.30 seconds ahead of Florida State.

The Varsity four captured a solid second place finish in their semifinal race, finishing 8.87 seconds behind the crew of Washington University but earned an opportunity to compete in the finals.

Gartin stated, “The Varsity Four, our NCAA boat, did a great job in the face of some tough conditions on Saturday morning. Due to the weather and course conditions they had to sit at the starting area for an extra hour. They gutted out the heat and came back for a much smoother semi.”

The open 4 crew of coxswain Mikaela Myers (So., Perrysburg, Ohio), Elizabeth Hurley (Sr., Fort Mill, S.C.), Christie McElhenny (Jr., Egg Harbor Township, N.J.), Ivana Gagula (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) and Emma Jordan (Jr., Sebastian, Fla.) competing in the open four race took a second place finish against some tough division one crews. They captured a second place finishing time of 7:41.04, roughly seven seconds behind the crew of Alabama.

“The open four raced really great this weekend,” said Gartin. “That boat stepped up and raced against some tough D-1 crews.”

After capping off Saturday’s races, the Sharks eagerly anticipated their four grand finally race opportunities on Sunday.

The Novice 8 started the finals off for the Sharks by claiming one of three second-place finishes to Ohio State by a split different of 13.98 seconds. The Sharks crossed the line with a finishing time of 7:36.91.

“The freshman eight raised their game another notch this weekend,” said Gartin. “They kept getting better from the heats to the semis to the final. The final was clearly their best race and they pushed hard, it was exciting to see how far that boat has come.”

Capturing another second-place final finish on Sunday for the Sharks was the Varsity 4. The V4 finished that race at 7:52.60 which was 11.60 seconds off the pace of the crew from Washington.

“The final was a hard one and everyone was driving hard for the line. We will be seeing Washington University again at Dad Vail, we'll be ready,” said Gartin.

Adding to the Sharks’ tally was the all popular Varsity 8 boat, claiming the Sharks’ third second-place final finish of the regatta. NSU had a finishing time of 6:57.33 which was roughly seven seconds behind the winning No. 6 ranked Mercyhurst crew but ahead of the Florida crew and No. 5 Barry.

“The Varsity 8 found yet another gear and racing ability,” said Gartin. “They seem to learn something about themselves every race this semester. We did a great job in the heat, laying down a great time along with the semi. We knew that Mercyhurst was a fast crew and they showed it in the final. We had a good row, but the crew and I are confident there is more speed to be found.”

NSU will be back on the water next weekend where they will compete for the Sunshine State Conference Championships in Fellsmere, Fla. on Saturday, April 23.

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