RowAmerica Rye Looking to Medal at Nationals
By Melanie Cane
Nearly 2,000 athletes representing over 40 teams competed May 20-21 in the US Rowing Northeast Youth Championships on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., the qualifying regatta for the US Rowing Youth National Championships. And six boats from RowAmerica Rye made the cut.
In the Northeast Championships, two RowAmerica boats — the Women’s Youth Lightweight and the Men’s Youth Pair — won gold medals. The winning girls were Izzy Aronin, Carolyn Soltz, Mackenzie Smith, Ashley Gianetti, and Hannah Weingartner. Rye’s Sean Hayes and Gus Rodriguez comprised the Men’s Youth Pair.
The Women’s Youth Four boat of Kate O’Byrne, Hannah Schaenman, Kelly Morrissy, Melanie Holmes, and Amanda Mustafaraj brought home silver.
And both the Women’s Youth Quad and the Men’s Youth Eight won bronze medals.
Clemmi Borgogni and Chris Pyne will represent RAR’s Men’s Youth Doubles as well as the Eight at Nationals, which will be held the weekend of June 9 in Sarasota, Florida.
“Our athletes have been working very hard towards reaching their goal of medaling at the Nationals, and qualifying at regionals was a critical step,” said Marko Serafimovski, Director and Head Women’s Varsity Coach. “With fewer than 40 varsity members, it is impressive that we are sending six boats to compete on the national level.”
The coach was excited to report that 12 of those 40 athletes have been recruited to row in college — from Hobart to Harvard to U Penn to Tulane to UCLA.
Men’s Eight just off the Milton Harbor dock
Women’s Quad