Brock men rule OUA waters
Brock’s men’s rowing team won five of 10 races last Saturday in Welland to rule the waters at the Ontario University Athletics championships.
The men also won three silvers and a bronze on the way to the team’s 12th OUA championship in school history and their first since 2017.
“It was a huge thrill because it has been a few years and especially coming out of a year where we weren’t able to compete at all,” Brock had coach Peter Somerwil said. “To come out of that and win was fantastic. The athletes were super, super pumped about it.”
Brock rowers began training alone in their basements or garages in the offseason before return to the water first in singles.
“We had several leaders who set a standard for everybody and they pushed everyone to do their best,” Brock men’s lightweight coach Tom Kent told the Brock Athletics website.
That hard work obviously paid off.
“As we entered the season, we looked forward to making it all come together,” Brock men’s open coach Scott Anderson told the Brock Athletics website. “We often talk about having good clay to mould and I think we did.”
Back in the summer, Brock rowers were already talking about bringing home a championship to the St. Catharines university, Somerwil said.
“To have the banner back in our hands and hung up in Bob Davis Gym is a big deal for this group which has poured blood, sweat and tears into this sport,” Sam Stewart, told the Brock Athletics website. “This will be a benchmark for a lot of our rowing careers.”
Stewart was part of a men’s coxed four that won gold and an eight that mined silver.
Brock came into the OUA championships on a high note after winning the Brock Invitational using a points format identical to the one used last weekend. Brock won the invitational by 100 points and the OUAs by 175 points.
“We were fairly confident going in that it was ours to lose,” Somerwil said.
Brock’s women placed third in the team standings and he was more than pleased with that result considering most of the open team had graduated and half the lightweight squad had also moved on.
“Our women’s team is really at a rebuilding point and most of them are new to the team this year,” Somerwil said. “For them to come in third was excellent. Some of the veterans were able to pull off a win in the lightweight four and some of the younger ones were also able to pull in some medals and that bodes well for the future.”
Winning gold for the Brock men were: Thomas Markewich in the lightweight single; Markewich and Connor Dodds in the lightweight double; bow Tony DiDomenico, Chris Gomez, Benjamin Hersche, Connor Dodds, Samuel Maconco, Stephen Harris, Jared Boles, stroke Jonathan Cinquina and coxswain Riley Pisek in the lightweight eight; Cinquina, Maconco, Harris, Boles and Pisek in the lightweight coxed four; and, Stewart, Michael Ciepiela, Daniel Brophy, William Bryden and coxswain Clara Sebastianelli in the open men’s coxed four.
Brock men capturing silvers were: stroke Stewart, Ciepiela, Brophy, Bryden, Sebastianell, Jacob Martens, Keithan Woodhouse, Jonathan Hickman and bow Kevin Keith in the open eight; DiDomenico and Chris Gomez in the lightweight pair; and, Martens and Oskars Rugelis in the open double.
The men’s open pair of Hickman and Woodhouse placed third.
Brock’s women were led by a gold medal from Olivia Jose, Rowan O’Neill, Jordan Isnor, Zoe Durcak and coxswain Pilar Dietrich in the lightweight coxed four.
Earning silver medals for the Brock women were: Jose (stroke), Alicia Piazza, Madeline Hingston, Zoe Durcak, Isnor, O’Neill, Isabella Durcak, bow Laci Schute and Dietrich (coxswain) in the lightweight eight; and, Hingston and Schute in the lightweight pair.
Next up for the Badgers are the Canadian University Rowing Championships being staged on the South Course at Dain City in Welland. Time trials will run Saturday from 9 a.m., to 3 p.m. and the finals will be held Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Brock’s men last won a national title in 2012 and have won five in total since the championships were started in 1997.
Somerwil expects stiff competition from Queen’s and the University Victoria on the men’s side.
Each team is limited to 12 males and 12 females and events contested are the lightweight single, double and coxed four and the open single, pair and eight.
“I have a lot of confidence on the men’s side that we will be in the hunt but I don’t think it will be a runaway win for anyone” Somerwil said. “On the women’s, side I expect UBC to be very strong again so that may push us back a spot or two in the rankings.
The event will feature 290 athletes from across Canada and 80 volunteers, including 20 umpires, will be on hand to make the event run smoothly.
Access to the South Niagara Rowing Club and launch dock is restricted to athletes, volunteers and coaches but spectators are encouraged to come out to the finish line at Forks Road and Colborne Street or Forks Road and Canal Bank Road.
“There is a lot of open space there so there is no crowding issues and there is lots of room for people to stand and cheer,” Somerwil said. “The athletes have missed hearing a crowd now for a couple of years and I think they would really love to hear people out there.”
The event will be also live streamed by Brock TV on YouTube.
