OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City men's rowing team claimed 14 individual victories over the weekend in the Head of the Oklahoma Regatta.
The Men's Open 8+ consisted of some of our alumni that come back to race each year. This year's 8+ was Jimmy Francis, Craig Oldiges, Jackson Anderson, Stephen George, Scott Jones, Erik Wierenga, Matt Mahon and Sam Lee, coxed by Hadzo Habibovic. In the night sprints, Anderson was absent and replaced by former Olympian Vicky Opitz.
OCU men's team reclaimed the Ronald J. Norick Cup which goes to the first place finished of the Men's Collegiate 8+ and the William Schnittman Cup for taking first place in the Men's Collegiate 4+. This is the ninth time in the past ten years that OCU has claimed the Schnittman Cup and sixth time of the past seven years for the Norick Cup. The men's team also swept the collegiate men's races, winning the varsity 8+, varsity 4+, freshman 8+, freshman 4+, varsity 2- and varsity 1x events. Additionally, they won all of the men's open events, except for the 4x and 1x in which they placed 2nd and 5th in respectively.
Vojin Kovacevic of OCU also claimed three separate first place finishes along with one second-place finish. Starting in the Men's Collegiate 8+, the freshman Kovacevic finished with a time of 13:10.7 in his first collegiate event. Kovacevic also earned the top spot in the Men's Collegiate Novice/Frosh 8+ with a top time of 15:06.1. The third first place finish that Kovacevic claimed was the Men's Collegiate Novice/Frosh 4+ with a final time of 15:26.7. Rounding out Saturday for Kovacevic was in the 72gf. Men's collegiate 4+ 500 meter Grand Final where Kovacevic came in second with a time of 1:42.2.
Three Stars finished in the top 11 in the Men's Open 1x with Jack Fruehwirth coming in fifth at 17:31.1. Behind Fruehwirth was younger brother Josef Fruehwirth coming in at 18:07.3. Rounding out the OCU boats in the event was freshman Pavle Glisic who finished with a time of 18:17.0.
In the 500-meter Petite Final Glisic came in first place. The freshman came in with the top time of 1:51.5.
Santiago Arias placed third in the Men's Open Lightweight 1x. Arias finished with a time of 20:17.8.
The sophomore from Oklahoma City Keaton Knopp had a very successful day on the water with two individual first-place finishes and one third-place finish. Knopp came in first in the Men's Collegiate 4+ with a time of 15:00.9 while also coming in first edging out Kovacevic from OCU in the Men's Collegiate 4+ 500-meter Grand Final at a time of 1:36.7. Knopp's third-place finish came in the 66gf. 500-meter Grand Final with a time of 1:27.0 coming in less than a second behind the top two finishers in Simenunovic from OCU and a member from Alabama.
Oklahoma City filled up the leaderboard in the Men's Collegiate 1x as Kyle Brown claimed first place with a time of 17:31.5. Following Brown from OCU was Aidan Moriarty in third, Glisic in fourth, Elias Dahl in fifth and Fruehhwirth in seventh.
Knopp and senior Todor Stankovic owned a first-place finish on the Men's Collegiate 2- with a time of 16:09.2.
Rounding out the pairs on Saturday in the 65gf. Men's Open 2x 500-meter Grand Final was two separate OCU pairs with freshman Ayden Ressler and Fruehwirth who came in third with a time of 1:42.4. Coming in behind the top OCU pair in sixth place was Dahl and Fruehwirth with a time of 2:39.9.
Turning the page over to Sunday, the OCU men's team competed in the four events. Knopp claimed victory in the Men's Open 4+ with Fruehwirth falling in behind in third place. Knopp also took the top spot in the Mixed Open 8+ with a time of 15.21.4.
Finally, to round out the Regatta Oklahoma City took first and second place in the Men's Open 2- with Ressler and Fruehwirth finishing first at 16.38.8. Coming in second was Kovacevic and freshman Ethan Romburgh who finished with a time of 17:05.2.
NEXT EVENT
The OCU men's rowing team's next event will take place Oct. 20-22 at the Head of Charles in Cambridge, Mass.
