PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst College men's rowing team captured three first place finishes at the East Region Championships, held in Philadelphia April 24 and 25.
The Lakers entered two boats in the men’s varsity four competition, as Mercyhurst’s lightweight eight was split into two fours to compete in the open weight event. The two Mercyhurst boats pulled ahead from the start, leading Philadelphia and Dowling. Mercyhurst’s “A” boat, consisting of
Michael Baggaley,
Michael Orzolek,
Chris Register,
Jovan Jovanovic and
Ryan Browning, earned first place in a time of 6:38.2. The Lakers’ freshman boat (
R.J. Rubino,
David Cullmer,
Jake Schuppe and
Ivan Palikuca) placed second in 6:43.0. Philadelphia placed third and Dowling fourth.
A new combination of
Ben Caplinger and Tom Hall won the men’s pair race in a time of 7:43.2, 34 seconds faster than Dowling and 41 seconds ahead of Philadelphia.
The Lakers’ freshman four (
Chris Branchick,
Adam King, Dan Baggaley,
Jeff Murt and
Jeffrey Thiede claimed first place in their race in a time of 7:02.9 while defeating Dowling by nearly 27 seconds.
Mercyhurst will next compete in the Mid-America Collegiate Rowing Association Championship Saturday, May 1 in Athens, Ohio.