High wind conditions with gusts over 40 mph, kept the Virginia State Rowing Championships at Occoquan from completion last Saturday. The VASRA State Championships bring out almost 1,500 of the best varsity rowers from the region's top programs. However, to ensure the safety of the athletes, only the heats (events 1-31) were able to be completed. The race finals have been rescheduled for Sandy Run on May 22.
Yorktown advanced each of its boats to the May 22 final. The women’s 2V and 1V and the men’s 1V won their respective heats.
"No one really likes rowing when the waters are really tough," Yorktown coach Andy Bacas said. "I think this was the right decision by the regatta officials."
The men’s junior eight and the women’s junior eight will also compete on May 22.
The women’s 1V, led by stroke Paige Monborne, was seeded fifth but won its heat by 2.7 seconds over second-seeded Robinson. The Lady Patriots will race in lane four in the finals.
"We kept it calm with the chaotic conditions," Monborne said. "Lucy [Bonino], our coxswain, did an awesome job of keeping everyone focused."
Monborne said while conditions where rough, she would have liked to get the finals out of the way.
"It’s two more weeks," she said, "to train and get nervous."
Bacas said junior Hannah Yoest, who is being recruited by some Ivy League schools, and seniors Chelsea Vandish (University of Miami), Noelle Crosby (Central Florida) and Monborne (Dartmouth) are the team’s standouts.
The men’s 1V won its heat by seven seconds and will compete in late two in the finals.
Bacas said seniors Leon Suvak (Wisconsin), Peter Bacas (Penn), Steve Cauffman (Syracuse) and junior Fielding Williams have been strong for the men.
Three out of four Washington-Lee varsity eights secured a place in the final races. The W-L men's V8 finished second, seven seconds behind Yorktown, to advance. The men's and women's second varsity eights both placed second — the women were two seconds out of the top spot — to move onto their finals. The women's varsity eight also placed second in their heat moving onto the petite final.
"We are really happy with our finishes today," W-L head coach Derek Parson said. "It was tough out there and our rowers rose to the challenge. We are looking forward to some exciting finals."
The final races on May 22 will decide which boats move onto the national championships being held this year in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. In the meantime, five Washington-Lee teams will travel to Philadelphia this weekend to compete at Stotesbury, the world's largest high school regatta.
<b>Yorktown Boys Tennis Advances to Regionals</b>
The Yorktown boys tennis team finished the season with a 12-2 record and earned a berth in the regional tournament starting May 17 at Lake Braddock.
The Patriots, undefeated against every team in the district except Stuart, clinched second place in the National District last week with an 8-1 win over rival Washington-Lee on May 4 and an 8-0 victory over Wakefield on May 3.
Coach Dave Barton said the W-L win was particularly impressive, because the Patriots improved over their earlier match with that team. "Led by captain Matt Karvelas at No. 1, the Yorktown players all played close competitive matches," he said, noting the six singles victories included come-from-behind wins by Ben Martindale (No. 5) and Eamonn Delacy (No. 6).
In District tournament playoffs, Karvelas defeated Brian Fitzsimmons of Mount Vernon and Rafael Diakno of Stuart in singles matches to advance to the semifinals this week. In doubles, Karvelas and Sky Leyden (No. 1 doubles) defeated teams from Falls Church and Stuart to advance to the doubles semifinals this week. The Patriots No. 2 doubles team of Martindale and Aidan Papavizas won their first round in the districts but then lost a close match against W-L.
All six Yorktown players won National District awards for their strong play this season. Papavizas (No. 3) and Delacy (No. 6) won All-District certificates for undefeated seasons, and the others – Karvelas (No. 1), Leyden (No. 2), Danny Yeatman (No. 4) and Martindale (No. 5) received Honorable Mention awards in recognition of their outstanding winning records.
<b>Yorktown Boys, Girls, W-L Boys
Lax Advance to District Final
<bt>The Yorktown boys lacrosse team defeated Mount Vernon 8-4 on May 10 and the Yorktown girls beat Edison 17-7, advancing both Patriot teams to their respective National District championship games at Yorktown. The girls will face Hayfield at 7 p.m. on May 13 and the boys will take on Washington-Lee at 7 p.m. on May 14.
Michael Crowe led the Yorktown boys with three goals against Mount Vernon. Kyle Oliver, Cameron Cornelius, Stephen Kang, Matt Ambrogi and Joe Crawford each scored one goal.
<b>Boys All-National District Lax Teams
</b>
The 2010 All-National District lacrosse teams were recently announced, with Yorktown’s Rory Devine earning Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Washington-Lee midfielders Neco Burns and Mark Palmer and defender David Roddy were named to the first team along with Yorktown attackman Michael Crowe, midfielder Stephen Kang and defender Devine.
Second-team members included: W-L attackman Alex Cummins, midfielder Willy Horsley and defender Jamal Williams and Yorktown attackmen Joe Crawford and Cameron Cornelius, defenders Josh Fleetwood and Macully Netting and goalkeeper Jim Roberts.