Northville Rowers Gleamed in State Championship

With another string of wins, Northville Rowing Club ended their regular season on Saturday, May 21, at the Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan (SRAM) Championship Regatta held at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dominating scull events (two oars per rower) all season, Northville’s scull crews seized gold once again on the banks of the Grand River. Junior Jackie Cole finished first with a decisive time of 7:11:60 – a full 34.24 seconds ahead of the second place finisher in the Women’s Varsity Singles event. Dynamic duo Jake Gourd (junior) and Ashwath Muruganand (senior) also captured first place in the Men’s Varsity Doubles Final. Muruganand, who had previously qualified for nationals based on his performance at the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association Championship Regatta held on May 14-15, reaffirmed his prowess in Men’s Varsity Singles by capturing another first place finish in Grand Rapids and taking home the gold. Muruganand will return to Dillon State Park in Nashport, Ohio, over Memorial Day weekend to compete at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championship Regatta. A live web streaming of the 2016 SRAA national championships will be available May 27-28, on the SRAA’s website: https://www.sraa.net/2016/05/live-stream/.

Rowing strongly all season, junior Maya Sankaran and sophomore Belle Cureton also demonstrated a solid finish at the state championship by placing third in the Women’s Varsity Doubles Final. Competing in the Women’s Junior 4+ Final, Sankaran and Cureton rowed with junior Zoe King, Freshman Kylie VanLoo, and Coxswain Bethany Holub (junior) to take the bronze medal in a close third place finish.

Reflecting on the club’s performance at the state championship as well as the team’s rowing throughout the past few months, Coach Katie Larder beamed, “It’s been a phenomenal season. We did extremely well today. We probably would have medalled in the Men’s Junior 4+ if they hadn’t been assigned to the first heat. But that’s the luck of the draw. I hope to see everybody [the athletes] this summer at our Scully or Preseason Camps.”

Starting June 6, Northville Rowing Club will also run a Learn to Row camp for middle school students who are interested in rowing. Coach Larder will lead the co-ed camp, which will be held at the team’s practice location at Ford Lake in Ypsilanti. To register for the Learn to Row camp online, go to the Club’s website at http://northvillerowing.siplay.com/site/. Northville Rowing Club is a non-profit, 501C3, rowing for Northville High School. It is a co-ed, competitive club sport, with an opportunity to earn a Varsity Letter. With no experience required, we welcome 9th to 12th Grade students from Northville High School.

» Photo: Deb Williams | Medalists first row from left, Maya Sankaran, Jackie Cole, Zoe King, and Bethany Holub; second row from left, Kylie VanLoo, Belle Cureton, Jake Gourd, and Ashwath Muruganand