UST rowing team wins six events at North Star Collegiate Invitational
The University of St. Thomas rowing team competed in the North Star Collegiate Invitational last Saturday on the Mississippi River. In addition to St. Thomas, the event included teams from Lawrence University (Wisconsin), St. Cloud State University and Winona State University.
The team captured victories in six of the seven events. In one of the most impressive rows of the day, the men’s varsity four (Josh Redman, Cal VanEpern, Spencer Nelson, Andre Trawick and Steve Assie) won by a margin of nearly one minute with an overall time of 6:20. The women’s pair (Eve Commerford and senior Heather Maenke) captured gold with a 14-second margin over Lawrence University. In the final event of the day, the squad fielded two varsity mixed eights (four men and four women) and raced to a one-two finish.
“It was a great day of racing that demonstrated the depth that this team has developed,” said Patrick Johnson, head coach. “We are graduating only one senior out of 40 rowers this year, so that depth will continue to grow into next year.”
The team heads east next week for the Dad Vail Championship Regatta in Philadelphia. More than 100 varsity and club programs from around the nation participate in this highly competitive event. Last year, St. Thomas captured its first women’s varsity medal by claiming the silver in the women’s varsity pair at the regatta.
