THE SPACE COAST DAILY – FRIDAY NIGHT LOCKER ROOM TEAM IS BREVARD’S #1 SPORTS SOURCE
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – The Florida Tech Men’s Rowing team competed on the first day of the 2024 Dad Vail Regatta on the Cooper River on Friday.
The M2x of Onat Cakici and Akos Hajagos opened the morning, placing sixth in the 10-team field with a time trial of 9:15.931. Leading with the top three times at the end of time trials were William and Mary (8:35.213), Oklahoma City A (8:43.127), and Dominican (8:46.499).
With the Panthers seeded sixth at the end of time trials, they were placed in the second semifinal heat and pitted against Delaware (10:38.321), Oklahoma City A, Dominican, and Penn State (9:46.317). The top three teams from each semifinal advanced to the Grand Finale, with the remaining two teams advancing to the petite final on Saturday.
In the M2x semifinal 2 heat, the men covered the 2,000-meter course in 8:50.098 for a third-place finish, 17 seconds behind Dominican. Oklahoma City A dominated the course with a time of 8:07.752 to take first.
In the Varsity 8+, the crew finished with a time of 6:23.393 in the morning time trial, finishing with the 10th best time in a field of 18. Leading with the top three times at the end of time trials were Drexel (6:07.753), Temple (6:14.277), and Western Ontario (6:15.287).
The crew was placed in the third and final semifinal heat, racing against Loyola (6:38.071), Stetson (6:22.361), Western Ontario, La Salle (6:19.493), and Rollins (6:39.109). The top two teams in each semifinal advance to the grand final, the third and fourth teams advance to final 2, and the remaining two advance to final 3.
After getting off to a slow start, Tech powered through to catch up to the other crews and take a fourth-place finish in the third semifinal heat. The Panthers crossed the finish line in 6:26.590, ahead of Loyola (6:34.506) and Rollins (6:52.350). The men were edged out of third place by Stetson (6:24.750).
Double
■ Stroke / Onat Cakici
■ Bow / Akos Hajagos
Varsity 8+
■ Coxswain / Justin Woodyard
■ 8 / Sandro Gardella
■ 7 / Arnedas Kelmelis
■ 6 / Domantas Marocka
■ 5 / Justas Kuskevicius
■ 4 / Hugo Ruzicka
■ 3 / Omer Bayram
■ 2 / Thomas Matt
■ Bow / Hayden Linkel
UP NEXT: The Panthers are back at the Cooper River on Saturday, May 11 for the finals. The Men’s Double will compete in the grand final at 1:22 pm. The Varsity 8+ competes in the second final at 4:50 p.m.
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