 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Hobart 4 take home bronze from IRA
June 5 , 2005
CAMDEN, N.J.–The Hobart College varsity four with coxswain finished third out of 24 teams at the IRA Regatta.
After winning their heat on June 2, and posting the fastest time in the June 3 semifinals, Hobart’s four was poised to compete for the top medal spots in the grand final.
In the final, senior Michael Hoepp, and juniors Gavin Johnstone-Butcher, Gardner Loring, John Michael Chadonic, and Daniel Gilbert shot out to half a boat-length lead in the first 500 meters of the race. Over the next 1000 meters, three boats moved back on the Statesmen. The last 500 meters would feature a tight race for the medals. Hobart started its sprint with 400 meters left in the race and was able to hold off the charging field to secure the bronze medal by 0.5 seconds over Army.
 |
Hobart's bronze medal-winning varsity four with coxswain. |
Hobart missed the silver medal by 0.35 seconds to Rutgers, and was 1.6 seconds behind the gold-medal-winning crew from Stanford.
”Bringing home a medal at the IRA is never an easy task,” Hobart Head Coach Mike Guerrieri said. “The varsity four came back to the IRA determined to improve on last year’s performance. They did everything right in the heat and semifinal, which helped put them in position to reach their goal.”
The Hobart freshmen four with coxswain had a chance to make it to the grand final after winning their repecharge. However, they came out flat in their semifinal race and finished fifth sending them to the petite final to decide the seventh through 12th spots. They were able to finish the regatta with a strong race, snatching second place in the petite final by fending off a surging Navy crew. First-year Statesmen James Spalt, Trippe Duke, Richard Klein, Andrew Meunier, and Alex Tye finished 0.09 seconds in front of Navy to grab eighth out of 23 teams.
The Statesmen finished 25th out of the 44 schools entered in the regatta in the Ten Eyck points standings. They were the highest scoring Division III school at this year’s championships. Full race results and more pictures can be found on www.row2k.com.