Men’s Rowing Races Well at Head of the Hooch

CHATTANOOGA, TN (men’s rowing) – Racing in their second event of the fall season, the Florida Tech Panthers men’s rowing team posted outstanding results at
the Head of the Hooch regatta in Chattanooga, Tennessee, over the past weekend.

Racing in nine events, the Panthers placed in the top five in nine events. They earned two gold medals, two silvers, two bronzes, a 5th place finish, and a
9th, 12th, and 15th place finish in other events on the weekend.

The first gold medal came in the Men’s Lightweight 4+. This event showcased 18 teams, with Florida Tech beating Jacksonville University and Virginia Tech
by one second to claim the gold medals. The Lightweight 4+ was coxed by Aliyah Snyder (Niceville, Fla.) and was crewed by Steve Lindstrom (Blackstone, MA),
Brian Pierce (Melbourne, FL), Brandon Adams (York, PA), and Tim Osterhout (Pensacola, FL).

In the Men’s Open 8+, Tech placed 1st with a time of 14:53.0 and beat five other boats. The open 8+ consisted of coxswain Snyder, and was crewed by James
Woodard (Kissimmee, Fla.), Justin Eickmeier (Pickering, Ontario, Canada), Brandon Adams, Matt Lipka (Nashua, NH), Ray Deskins III, Jeff Tessier, Ryan
Krajcik (Orange, CT), and Tim Osterhout.

Tech’s Taylor Brown (Winter Park, FL.) and Brian Pierce (Melbourne, FL) placed 1st and 2nd in the Men’s Novice 1x event with times of 18:10 and 18:26
respectively. Kris Groble also placed 3rd in the men’s lightweight 1x event with a time of 18.53.9.

The other strong finishes came in the championship 4+ and championship 8+ events, where Tech recorded 2nd and 3rd place finishes. In the 4+ event, Tech
finished just two seconds behind winner Grand Valley State University, who posted a time of 15:43.8. The Men’s championship 4+ was coxed by Rachel Hillyer
(Melbourne, Fla.) and crewed by Taylor Brown (Winter Park, FL), Paul Bunkers (Winter Park, FL), Jeff Tessier, and Justin Eickmeier.

In the championship 8+ event, the panthers recorded a time of 14:36.9 and finished behind Grand Valley State University and winner Georgia Tech. The Men’s
championship 8+ lineup included coxswain Rachel Hillyer, Taylor Brown, Kevin Moore (Mays Landing, NJ), James Woodard, Paul Bunkers, Jeff Tessier, Justin
Eickmeier, Chris Lambert (Plantation, Fla.), and Brian Pierce.

To see complete results from the Head of the Hooch, go to http://headofthehooch.org/results/.

Nick Lauletta
Asst. Sports Information Director
Florida Tech
P. 321-674-7502
F. 321-984-8529
http://gopanthers.fit.edu