WOODBRIDGE, Va.—The Hobart rowing team competed in the Occoquan Invitational this afternoon. The Statesmen's third varsity eight highlighted the day's racing, finishing first overall in their race.
 
Competing against Marist, St. Joseph's, Jacksonville, University of San Diego, Loyola University Maryland, and Marietta on the Occoquan Reservoir, the Statesmen battled a light cross-tailwind, which turned into a direct moderate tailwind over the course of the day.
 
THIRD VARSITY EIGHT

• Hobart's 3V was made up of Isabel Goldblatt-Hamilton, Jayden Dasher, Estel Justus, Braden Hendrickson, Fletcher Grantham, William Walker, Cameron Nixon, Liam O'Connor, and Cayden Hill.
• The Statesmen's third varsity competed in a two-boat race this morning against Saint Joseph's. The third varsity followed the other Hobart crews' lead and leapt off the start energetically, not allowing the Hawks to regain any length. The third varsity continued to pull away, earning an ideal lane for the grand final.
• The Statesmen crossed the finish line with a time of 6:09.4.
• Hobart's third varsity carried their victorious mentality into the afternoon, taking a length against the field in the first 100-meters. Leaving no room for doubt, the Hobart third varsity won the grand final with a time of 5:49.5.
• Hendrickson and Grantham commented on the race, "Overall, pretty good, but we need to focus more on the details. We handled everything pretty well during the race, and we are proud to have made a lot of improvements since last week."

 
VARSITY EIGHT

• Hobart's 1V, which was ranked 21st in the latest IRCA/IRA Poll, was composed of Sam Hyman, Owen O'Connor, Charles Watroba, Colin Mester, Kiré Richardson, Chase Sneddon, James Feeley IV, Carlo Capitanucci, and Tibor Teleki.
• In their morning race, the Statesmen competed against Saint Joseph's, Marietta and Loyola.  
• Hobart had some difficulty off the start, but quickly recovered to one seat down on Saint Joseph's at the 500-meter mark. From there, the Statesmen held steady until the sprint at the last 500-meter mark, where the Hawks moved away. The second-place finish allowed the Statesmen to progress to the afternoon grand final. The 1V rowed across the finish line with a time of 5:47.9.
• In the grand final, the Statesmen 1V took on Marist, Saint Joseph's and UC San Diego. Marist and UC San Diego were receiving votes in the poll.
• Hobart opened aggressively, taking a length lead on the field and holding the margin until the 1,200-meter mark, where rough water affected the boat's rhythm. This, in combination with fatigue, landed the Statesmen in fourth with a time of 5:39.7.
• Captain Colin Mester commented on the finish, stating, "We set the tone for the race early and gave it our all. In the last couple of hundred meters of the race, we had some stability issues, a mixture of conditions, and we had sub-par technique late in the race, which led to the other crews being able to walk back and overtake us. Overall, it was a great effort by us all, and we know what we need to do going forward. We're not going anywhere!"

 
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT

• The Statemen's 2V8 was driven by Ellie Dial, Trevor Beatley, Sam Peeler, James Faulkner, Alan Marusic, Nicholas Short, Álvaro Paulin, Clement Newbold, and Henry McComb.
• The Statesmen continued the trend of jumping off the start powerfully, building a length lead at 300 meters. They continued to hold this lead at a constant rate, not calling for a sprint in this race; the men finished in first. with a time of 5:59.5.
• "We had a very quick start, and had a very good base as the race opened up. We had a good sprint, and it's something we'll continue to work on for next week," said Faulkner.
• The second varsity took on the afternoon with another powerful start, jumping out in front of the other crews. At the 500-meter mark, the 2V had taken a length lead over the Red Foxes. The Statesmen held this margin on Marist until the last 500 meters, when the Red Foxes executed their sprint, overtaking the Statesmen.
• Hobart's second varsity crossed the line with a time of 5:45.0.

 
UP NEXT
Hobart will be back in action on Saturday, April 18, when they compete at the Holy Cross Invitational.