The George Mason University rowing team achieved six top-three finishes at the Novak Memorial Metropolitan Championship, according to a May 3 announcement. The event took place in New Rochelle, New York, and featured strong performances from several Patriots crews.
The results highlight the team’s recent progress after weeks of preparation. The Varsity 4+ crew won its heat and later finished third in the final. Both the Varsity 8+ and Second Varsity 8+ boats earned second-place finishes in their respective finals.
Head coach Joseph Richards said, “It was a very successful day for our team. We had good performances across every boat we fielded. I’m pleased with the way the team competed today, but more importantly, I’m really proud of the work and the effort they put in over the past few weeks when the results were not going our way and we weren’t leaving regattas feeling we had performed to our potential. They stuck with it and continued to work hard. There’s a lot of effort that went into this point, feeling like we have momentum going into our championship season.”
In specific races, George Mason’s Varsity 8+ completed its final race in second place with a time of 7:15.84—more than three seconds ahead of Iona and over twenty-four seconds ahead of LIU. The Second Varsity 8+ improved on its earlier fourth-place heat finish by securing second place in its final with a time of 7:35.72—thirty seconds ahead of Fordham B.
The Patriot Varsity 4+, after winning its heat in 8:38.10, placed third in its final at 8:16.94—over ten seconds faster than Binghamton’s fourth-place finishers. The Second Varsity 4+ also achieved a top-three placement during heats.
Looking forward, George Mason will conclude its season on May 16 at Pennsauken, New Jersey for the annual Atlantic Ten Championship.
