Baker & Witherow Advance to Grand Final in Varsity Pair at Knecht Cup

Novice Eight Reaches Petite Final, Varsity Eight Makes Third-Level Final

CHERRY HILL, NJ -- Sophomores Lawrence Baker (Shady Side, MD/Southern) and Mitch Witherow (Ocean City, MD/Stephen Decatur) reached the grand final and finished fifth overall in the men's varsity pair at the Knecht Cup, held yesterday and today in Cherry Hill, NJ. The Shoremen's novice eight reached the petite final of its event, while the varsity eight reached the third-level final.

Baker and Witherow finished third in their heat in 8:01.24, but posted the sixth-fastest time among all four heats. Colgate "A" won the heat in 7:53.80, Pittsburgh was second in 7:58.65, Mary Washington was fourth in 8:21.72, and West Virginia was fifth in 9:45.10. In their semifinal, Baker and Witherow were second in 8:04.62, finishing behind first-place Drexel, which finished in 7:49.93. Fairfield was third in 8:09.89, Carnegie Mellon "A" fourth in 8:12.43, Carnegie Mellon "B" fifth in 8:14.12, and Vassar "B" sixth in 8:44.81. That second-place finish advanced them to the grand final, where they finished fifth in 7:54.13. Colgate "A" won the race in 7:30.97, Drexel was second in 7:32.22, Lafayette was third in 7:39.99, and Fairfield was fourth in 7:47.28. All four of those boats were from Division I schools.

The Shoremen's novice eight was fourth in its heat in 6:44.81, racing against five boats from Division I schools. Washington's time was fast enough to qualify for the semifinals of the event. Bucknell won the heat in 6:26.58, North Carolina was second in 6:30.68, Marist was third in 6:38.79, Lafayette was fifth in 7:16.69, and Pittsburgh was sixth in 7:33.07. The novice eight was then sixth in its semifinal in 6:36.89 to move on to the petite final. Bucknell won the semifinal in 6:13.81, Trinity (CT) was second in 6:13.91, Hobart was third in 6:26.12, Lehigh was fourth in 6:30, and LaSalle was fifth in 6:33.68. In the petite final, the novice eight was sixth in 6:40.30, racing exclusively against boats from Division I schools. North Carolina won the petite final in 6:28.07, Virginia Tech was second in 6:33.65, Lehigh was third in 6:35.44, LaSalle was fourth in 6:35.86, and Marist was fifth in 6:38.46.

The Shoremen's varsity eight was the only boat from a Division III school in its heat, finishing fifth in 6:32.88. Marist won the heat in 6:19.15, Grand Valley was second in 6:22.72, Mercyhurst was third in 6:27.17, LaSalle was fourth in 6:27.58, and Lehigh was sixth in 6:35.18. Washington's time was fast enough to qualify for the third-level final, in which the Shoremen finished fourth in 6:20.97. The rest of the third-level final consisted of boats from Division I schools. North Carolina won the third-level final in 6:14.65, Army was second in 6:15.14, LaSalle was third in 6:18.78, Boston College was fifth in 6:21.94, and UMass was sixth in 6:26.31.

The Shoremen's varsity four was third in its heat in 7:47.38. Colgate won the heat in 7:34.15, Temple was second in 7:39.59, Drexel was fourth in 7:47.83, and Marist was fifth in 7:54.59. All four of the other boats in the Shoremen's heat were from Division I schools.

Washington's varsity eight was coxswained by senior Susanne Vaughn (Bel Air, MD/John Carroll). Sophomore Robert Storck (Wilton, CT/St. Mark's School [MA]) sat stroke, senior Reno Smith (Ocean City, MD/Worcester Prep) was in the seven seat, sophomore Parker McIntosh (Berlin, MD/Worcester Prep) sat in the six seat, junior Sean Harrison (Richmond, VA/Hazelton Area [PA]) was in the five seat, junior Miqdad Annab (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) sat in the four seat, graduate student Brandon Riker (Marlboro, VT/Twin Valley) sat in the three seat, senior Michael Zaborskiy (Novosibirsk City, Russia/American School of Bangkok [Thailand]) was in the two seat, and sophomore Kyle Benk (Bloomsburry, NJ/Phillipsburg) was the bow.

Freshman Chris Moylan (Silver Spring, MD/DeMatha) was the coxswain of the Shoremen's novice eight. Freshman Colin Mitchell (Burlingame, CA/Burlingame) sat stroke, freshman Blake Weishaar (Denton, MD/Sts. Peter & Paul) was in the seven seat, freshman Robert Billings (Easton, MD/Easton) was in the six seat, sophomore Aric Charowsky (Townsend, DE/St. Thomas More Prep) sat in the five seat, freshman Max Villa (Great Meadows, NJ/Pope John XXIII) was in the four seat, freshman Anthony Cairo (Port Murray, NJ/Warren Hills) sat in the three seat, freshman Jack McCarthy (Long Beach Island, NJ/The Hun School) sat in the two seat, and freshman Dominic DiMarino (Wilmington, DE/Concord) was the bow.

The coxswain of the Shoremen's varsity four was sophomore Jeff Nutting (Catonsville, MD/Mount St. Joseph). Freshman Nick Stewart (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) sat stroke, junior Brian Haluska (Chesterfield, NJ/Notre Dame) was in the three seat, senior Will Herland (Seattle, WA/Lakeside School) was in the two seat, and freshman Conor Howlett (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant) was the bow.

The Shoremen return to action Saturday at the Worcester Invitational in Worcester, MA.