April 19, 2003

HAMILTON, N.Y.--The Hobart varsity 8+ reclaimed the Seneca Cup this afternoon with an exciting, down-to-the-wire victory over Colgate University. The Statesmen have won three of the past four Seneca Cup races.

Through the 500-meter and 1,000-meter marks of the 1,500-meter race, the Statesmen and Raiders were mirror images, pulling even towards the line. With 200 meters remaining, Hobart put on a final surge which propelled the Statesmen to a 1.5 second victory (4:28.0) over Colgate (4:29.5).

Senior Kevin Stevenson (S. Burlington/S. Burlington, Vt.), senior Dave Undercoffler (Ithaca/Canandaigua, N.Y.), sophomore Matthew Monbouquette (Moses Brown/Warwick, R.I.), junior Tyler Spence (St. Ignatius College Prep/Lake Shore, Ill.), junior Havilland Campbell (LaSalle/Philadelphia, Pa.), sophomore Brandon Currie (Wilsonville/Lake Oswego, Ore.), junior Mike Fazio (Lakeland/Mohegan Lake, N.Y.), sophomore Mike Hoepp (Choate Rosemary Hall/Bedford, N.H.) captured the 123-year-old Cup for Hobart.

In the day's other races, the Statesmen junior varsity boat defeated Colgate's novice 8 by seven seconds, while both of Hobart's 4+ boats finished well ahead of the Raiders.

The Hobart crew returns to action on May 3 and May 4 at the New York State Championships held in Whitney Point. The Statesmen's varsity 8+ finished fourth in last season's NYS Championships, the top showing by a Division III program.