On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Sacred Heart University women’s rowing team finished up their fall season with the annual Heart of the Housatonic.
The regatta took place in Shelton, Conn., where Sacred Heart hosted Fairfield, UConn, Holy Cross, Fordham, Marist, Monmouth and Bryant. For the first time in program history, Sacred Heart swept all of their events during the competition.
“When the results came out, everyone in the boats just started yelling and cheering,” said junior Doria Lukasik-Drescher.
The rowing team posing during media day before
the start of their season.
Each boat consisted of either four or eight rowers and a coxswain, who sat facing the opposite direction of the other rowers who had their backs turned to the course.
According to the NCAA website, the coxswain oversees steering the boat around any obstacles, such as the wind or waves, that might affect the boat’s movement.
During the Heart of the Housatonic, the Pioneers had four boats in the Varsity 8, and three of them made the top ten for best times. Sacred Heart’s 1V8 came in first overall with a time of 17:30, 3V8 finished seventh at 18:19, and 2V8 got 10th with 18:30.
Senior Jordan Greene was impressed with the success the rowing team had.
“It takes a lot of skill and determination to do what they are doing,” said Greene. “I really hope they can continue to win.”
In the Varsity 4, the Pioneers had three boats that scored five of the best times. The best time was Sacred Heart’s 1V4, who came in first place at 18:28.
The Pioneers had a set of consecutive finishes with the 2V4 securing fourth at 19:00 and the 5V4 placing fifth at 19:02.
Head Coach Lucas Wilhelm was pleased with the way everyone performed.
“Our freshman class stood out to adapting to the training really well,” said Wilhelm. “Mia Bottone really stood out this fall as a freshman.”
Lukasik-Drescher also credited team captain Mia Purcell for always pulling the team together.
“Mia is just a great person in general,” said Lukasik-Drescher. “She is always rooting for us and works her butt off every day.”
Prior to the Heart of the Housatonic, the Pioneers had three other days of rowing and competed in the Head of the Housatonic, Head of the Charles and Head of the Schuylkill.
Sacred Heart’s first race was the Head of the Housatonic, hosted by the New Haven Rowing Club on Sunday, Oct. 13. The competition took place on the Housatonic River in Connecticut.
In the Varsity 4, the Pioneers won a medal for the first time in program history, with a third-place finish of 16:53 by Sacred Heart’s 1V4.
In the Varsity 8, Sacred Heart’s 1V8 had a time of 15:15 and got fifth place. The Pioneers also came in first place in the Novice 8 with a time of 15:49.
On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Pioneers competed in the Head of the Charles in Boston, Mass. In the Club 4, Sacred Heart finished with 19:11 and placed 16th out of 50.
Sacred Heart traveled to Philadelphia, for the Head of the Schuylkill on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Pioneers had five boats racing.
Sacred Heart’s 1V8 got ninth place out of 22 with a time of 13:09 during the Championship 8. For the Club Championship 8, Sacred Heart’s 2V8 got ninth place out of 48 and had a time of 13:35.
Meanwhile, the 3V8 got 17th place at 13:44, and the 4V8 finished in 38th with 14:30. Additionally, Sacred Heart’s Novice 8 got 11th place out of 23, with a time of 14:30, which was the program’s best finish for a novice event.
“We have massive potential for our spring season, which is the one that matters,” said Wilhelm.
