SARASOTA, Fla. (April 2, 2022) – The Rollins men's rowing team won the 2022 FIRA Championships held at Nathan Benderson Park on Saturday, finishing nearly 10 points clear of runner-up Stetson.
The Tars posted a total of 78.25 points, ahead of Stetson (69.5 points) and Embry-Riddle (52), with UCF (45.25) and Florida (23.25) rounding out the top five.
Rollins picked up a win in the Junior Varsity 8 race, clocking a time of 6:31.68. The Knights pushed the entire way down the course making a number of charges to try take over the lead from Rollins. Rollins did not let that happen, as the boat crossed the line 4 seconds ahead of the UCF crew. The Tars also won the Junior Varsity 4 race in 7:15.77 to blow away the field, outpacing Florida by nearly 12 seconds and UCF by over 22 seconds.
Rollins had two pairs in the competition, finishing fourth and fifth.
The men's Novice 4 and Novice 8 boats were each locked in tight competition from the opening gun, with the Tars finishing second in both races. The Freshman/Novice 8 boat grabbed second place in its race, posting a 6:26.35 to finish just over five seconds behind UCF's A boat. The Men's Novice 4 race was a battle from the start. The Knights and the Tars fought back and forth, as both boats would claim then lose slim leads. When the two crews crossed the line there was one horn and the winner was still in doubt. After a long deliberation UCF was deemed the winner, by .2 seconds.
The Tars Varsity Eight boat took third place in their event, with a time of 6:16.24, finishing just over five seconds behind Embry-Riddle and less than 14 seconds behind Stetson. Overall, nine Rollins boats took to the water on their way to the victory.
WHAT COACH SAID:
"There were a few things we could have done better to change the outcome of the some of the races and the hope is we can get this figured out moving into the next two races." – Head Rowing Coach
Shawn Pistor
UP NEXT:
The Tars will travel to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to compete in the Knecht Cup, which is set for April 9-10.
Fans can follow the Tars all season long at RollinsSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following Rollins Sports on
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