Rowing Begins Spring Season With Sweep

By; Ryan Patota, Sports Reporter

As the weather begins to cooperate, the Canisius Rowing team began its long-awaited spring season this past weekend, sweeping Robert Morris and Mercyhurst. After weather permitted, Canisius moved the race to the Amherst Veterans Canal Park in Tonawanda from the West Side Rowing Club due to the ice buildup on the Niagara River. 

It was a successful day to be on the water for the rowing team. Canisius placed first with the 2V8 shell finishing at 7:18.4, beating Robert Morris by more than a minute. Canisius also had first and second place finishes as the 1V4 race finished at 8:34.4 and the 2V4 shell came in at 8:57.4. The Griffs finished the day by completing a sweep with the 1V8 boat recording a 7:02.5.   

In their first race of the season, Canisius Rowing Head Coach Matt Cossman knows that his team has to take it step-by-step to maintain the success going forward. “We have to continue to get better at rowing from a technical perspective. It’s a marathon and not a sprint, so early on we are not trying to be our fastest version of ourselves and trying to enjoy ourselves along the way,” Cossman explained. 

Next, the Griffs will return to the river when they compete in the Knecht Cup at Cooper River Park for the first time since 2017. “The competition is going to be steep. I hope that it will be a great confidence builder for us to take away going forward and eye-opening to compete to beat some teams we have not beaten before,” said Cossman.

The racing begins on Saturday at 7 a.m. in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.