At the MAAC Championships Sunday at Cooper River Park, Marist had a goal finally to reach the top berth to break Jacksonville's streak, which dated back to the 2014 championship.
"We’ve had winning the MAACs as a target," said Tom Sanford, Head Women’s Coach and Director of Rowing at Marist. "We have a great class of seniors, so we were slowly closing the gap and everything fell into place this time. They performed as we expected them to perform; they are a relaxed group."
Coach Sanford said they looked at the Heats as a rehearsal, but they had full expectation of making the final. "They had a few things they wanted to improve upon," he said. "They are tapered, and they just emptied it in the final."
Marist won the 1V, 2V and was second in the V4, which surprised Sanford despite having had a solid regular season going all the way back to the Head Of The Charles, where they bested Jacksonville.
"I actually didn’t expect that kind of dominance," shares Sanford. "The 2V has been tenaciously working to gain speed. They had two excellent pieces today, two of the best pieces of the season." Throughout the season, the 2V has been pushing the Varsity 8 and 4. "We had line-up changes and they handled it really well."
Marist Senior Eliza Hartford has been part of the ascension of Marist's squad, and is currently sitting at bow seat of the Varsity 8. "This is my favorite group of girls; we have an amazing team dynamic and wanted to work together," she said after the awards ceremony. "Everyone had a positive attitude and showed up to work at practice. We had trust in each other, which was huge. When someone went down to the boathouse or went on a run, someone went along. We held each other accountable."
Jacksonville had a bit of a tough weekend, having had a trailer accident in the final minutes of their trip north as they turned onto Park Drive right at the top of the course. They borrowed boats from George Washington and St. Joe's, and Yale staff offered to help rig the boats.
"I give credit to what Marist accomplished today," head coach Mike Lane said. "Clearly, they wanted to win more than we did, and it was impressive to watch them perform. I wish coach Sanford and the Marist women the best of luck at NCAAs."
For Sanford, it has been a long journey at Marist. He started in 2002 with the Men’s team and switched to the Women’s team in 2008. He grew up in nearby Hyde Park, so his success at Marist has been while part of his "home team."
See the galleries from the racing here:
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
|