2009-10 NEWS RELEASES

UOIT Ridgebacks Media Release
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ridgebacks pick up points at the OUA Championship

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Western Mustangs became the second school in as many years to sweep both the men's and women's Ontario University Athletics (OUA) rowing titles in 2009, knocking off the defending champion Queen's Gaels in competition at the Henley Island Course in St. Catharines, Ont. on Saturday.

The UOIT Ridgebacks earned points in regatta for the second straight year, with the men’s heavyweight eight competing in the Ontario finals. Although the Ridgebacks entire crew faired well racing in the rough conditions, the Ridgebacks failed to pick up any medals at the Regatta.

At the developmental regatta on Friday, the Ridgebacks novice rowing crew proved that they have a bright future as their two entries were very competitive with the top rowing schools in the OUA.

OUA CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Men’s Heavyweight 2X
Crew: Jake Schwass & Justin Vanden Bosch
In the most competitive field at provincials, the Ridgebacks finished in ninth place with a final time of 7:23.1. The crew was less then a minute off the time of the heat’s fastest crew from Queen’s who finished the course at 6:23.6.

Women’s Heavyweight 2X
Crew: Ingrid Piat & Gillian Beckette
The Ridgebacks crew got off to a tough start in the race and finished with a final time of 9:23.6, two seconds off their pace at the Brock Invitational. UOIT finished in fifth place in their heat.

Women’s Heavyweight 4X
Crew: Allison Ng, Cheryl Walker, Lisa Harrington, Lauren Dares, and Cox’n Shea Brown
In another tight race, the Ridgebacks women’s heavyweight four crew finished at 7:51.5, shaving 24 seconds off their time at the Brock Invitational. The fastest crew in the heat was U of T who finished the race in 7:00.1.

Men’s Heavyweight 4X
Crew: Rob Nayer, Mark Lula, Vlad Listov, Scott Wilson & cox’n Catharina Cheng It was another disappointing finish for the UOIT men’s heavyweight four boat who finished in last place with a time of 7:50.4. The crew has had a difficult season, as they were only able to improve by four seconds compared to the their time at the Brock Invitational.

Women’s Lightweight 2X
Crew: Christie Attwood & Jennifer Oullette
Showing the most improvement from the Brock Invitational was the crew of Christie Attwood & Jennifer Oullette. The crew finished the 2000 metre course a staggering 1:15.0 faster then run at the Brock Invitational. The duo has trained hard this past year on and off the water to improve over the course of the season.

Men’s Lightweight 4X
Crew: Josh Versteeg, Jason Klein-Horsman, Ray Mutiger, Colin Jeffrey & cox’n Catharina Cheng
The Ridgebacks performed quite well in the men’s lightweight four, just missing out on qualifying for the finals. UOIT finished their heat with a time of 6:59.4, with McMaster qualifying for the finals with a time of 6:51.3. After technical problems slowed down the Ridgebacks crew at the Brock Invitational, the team improved by 1:27 at the OUA championship.

Women’s Heavyweight 8
Crew: Melissa McDonald, Allison Ng, Gillian Beckette, Neysa Laszkiewicz, Cheryl Walker, Lauren Dares, Ingrid Piat, Lisa Harrington and Shea Brown
The Ridgebacks heavyweight eight improved their pace from the Brock Invitational by over 30 seconds as they finished with a time of 7:33.2 in their heat. The fastest crew in the preliminary races from Brock University finished at 6:28.8.

Men’s Heavyweight 8
Crew: Colin Jeffrey, Vlad Listov, Mark Lula, Rob Nayer, Jason Klein-Horsman, Justin Vanden Bosch, Scott Wilson, Jake Schwass and cox’n Catharina Cheng
The men’s heavyweight eight crew put the Ridgebacks on the points board as they raced in the finals, pushing hard throughout the entire race and placing in the top six at the Regatta and in Ontario.

DEVELOPMENTAL REGATTA REULTS

Junior Varsity Four
Crew: Tamara Partridge, Lindsey Warne, Lindsay Smith, Kirystyn McCasey and Cox’n Irina Levit
The Ridgebacks just missed out on a spot in the junior varsity finals finishing their heat in fifth place, just three seconds behind Laurentian University. The crew trained and worked out diligently over the season, and now will move to either the lightweight category or the heavyweight category varsities.

Novice Men’s 8+
Crew: Steve Fontana, Derek Henderson, John Finnson, Mark Ironside, Scott Ryall, John Rankin, Greg Topham, Dave Cachia and cox’n Monica Mak
In the largest field at the meet with 15 boats in the race, the Ridgebacks finished in the middle of the pack with a time of 7.31.9, just 30 seconds out of first place. This was a highly competitive category, and bodes well for the future most of these rowers as they move up into the varsity ranks next season. 

- 30 -

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca