Rowing claims first race win in fall opener
By Cassandra Ercoli, Assistant Sports Editor
The Canisius rowing team opened up its fall season at the Yinzer Cup, hosted by Robert Morris in Pittsburgh, Pa., where the Golden Griffins took first place in the Varsity 8 event.
Headed by coxswain Sofia Maimone, the Varsity 8 boat, which featured four sophomores, picked up its first win in its first race of the season. With a time of 15:07.1, the Canisius shell finished just over 13 seconds ahead of second–place Toledo. The Blue and Gold’s 2nd Varsity 8 crew also claimed a top 5 finish with their time of 15:51.1, which was good enough to just edge out Robet Morris’ A shell.
Canisius and Toledo were the only two teams to place both boats in the top 5 and turn in a time under the 16–minute mark. Mercyhurst’s Varsity 8 placed fourth behind Toledo’s second and third finish, while the Griffs also beat out Marietta’s A team.
At the same race last year, Canisius also won the Varsity 8 event, but this year’s 1v8 squad turned in a time more than 30 seconds faster than their 2025 counterpart, while the 2v8 team also bested last year's crew.
The Griffs did not field a Varsity 4+ crew, an event where host Robert Morris took the top spot with a time of 16:56.7. Instead, the Blue and Gold entered a Novice 4+ team, which finished in fourth with a time of 13:25.8.
Canisius will race one more time before the northeast weather brings the boathouses to a freeze when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa. for the 56th annual Head of the Schuylkill this Saturday, Oct. 24.
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