OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Nova Southeastern rowing squad began competition in the 2018 Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship Regatta on Saturday morning.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
LOCATION: Oak Ridge, Tenn.
HOST: SIRA Championship Regatta
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
CONDITIONS:

• It was a gorgeous day for racing 3-4 mile an hour winds all day and sunny and 70 degrees.  A great day for racing.

 
RACE FORMAT:

• The Women's Varsity 8 (open) and Varsity 4+ (open) boats raced a 1800 meter time trial in the morning for seeding into semifinals that took place in the afternoon.
• The Women's 2- raced a 1800 meter time trial in the morning and was seeded directly into A, B or C level finals.

 
RESULTS:
 

• Women's 2
  • Barbara Sansur and Samantha Loriot raced first in the early morning finishing in 2^nd out of 15 boats, behind SSC competitor Barry and ahead of FIT and Rollins.  They will race in the A Final Sunday morning at 8:30 am.

 

• Women's Varsity 4
  • The boat made up of Jessica Cavalier, Nicole Balisewski, Mikayla Shelton, Mikayla Switzer and coxswain Maydelissa Pinell raced in their time trial next finishing 7^th out of 11 crews just behind FIT, Rollins, and Barry.  In their semi-final this afternoon they finished 4^th of 6 in a time of 7:54.094.

 

• Women's Varsity 8
  • One of the final time trials of the morning session, the 8+ including Lisette Villarreal, Marnie McClean, Ayelen Vegas, Kassie Moss, Emily Stewart, Rayna Stuart, Jasmine Morris, Ariel McAffrey and coxswain Victoria Porretti finished 8^th out of 10 crews.  In their semi-final race this afternoon they finished 4^th of 5 in a time of 7:08.245.

 
BEYOND THE RESULTS WITH COACH FAY:
 

• The women's 2- had a solid performance in their time trial today finishing near the top speed of all boats racing and definitely a good speed for the amount of time they have spent in line-up.  The duo of Loriot and Sansur raced well and more importantly steered a straight course.  They had a few late race bobbles that cost them some time, but if they can stay focused and together for their final they will challenge for the top spot in the final.

 

• The Women's Varsity 4 came off their solid time trial performance eager to take on the challenge of making it into the top 3 and qualifying for the grand final.  It was their most solid performance of the year so far and a definite improvement on their speed at FIRA.  However, in the semi-final they didn't have the same feeling in the boat and started with a fast, but ultimately less sustainable pace.  They had some off moments in the third 500 as they poured their heart and soul into qualifying but ultimately came up short. They go into the B Final with the second fastest qualifying time.

 

• The Women's Varsity 8 had a similar feeling to the Varsity 8 after their time trial.  They felt they had a solid performance in the time trial and could build off of the relaxed rhythm they used but add some more power on the stroke to make up the time gap and qualify for the A final.  For this crew they started pretty well, but were walked away from in the first 250 of the race.  However, they had a solid pace from 250 to about 1250 meters into the race and hung on to the stern of the third place crew, looking at times like they may be able to catch them.  It was not to be though, as they had several strokes where their power faded around 1500 meters in and then right before their sprint.  They go into the B Final tomorrow with the fastest qualifying time. 

 
 
UP NEXT
 
NSU will finish competition in the SIRA Championship Regatta on Sunday. For full results, CLICK HERE.  
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
 
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_Rowing.