ST. CATHARINES, ONT. - More than 305 rowers from 24 schools across Canada converged on Henley Island to compete in the 25^th annual Canadian University Rowing Championships, hosted by the Brock Badgers, in Port Dalhousie from Nov. 5-6.
 
The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds men's rowing team made waves out east in claiming their sixth banner in eight years with a total of 123 points while the host Badgers finished second (104) and the defending champion University of Victoria Vikes were third (101).


 
The three-time defending national champion T-Bird women's team fell just short of topping the podium for a fourth consecutive year, instead settling for third place while the University of Victoria Vikes women's squad captured their first title in 10 years with 106 points. UVic finished just six points ahead of second-place Western (100) and UBC in third with 90 points.


 
The T-Birds men's team we're able to secure the title on the strength of winning gold in three events and silver in three of the six events that make up the points race. Gold medals were achieved in the Men's 2- by Joel Cullen and Julian Black and Men's 1x by Liam Smit and the men's 8+ with a dominant 12-second win in the time of 5:25. The lightweight men won silver in the LM2x by Niko Schramm and Christian Place, LM 4+ and LM 1x Emerson Crick. Brock University put the Thunderbirds under pressure throughout the regatta with gold medal performances in the light men's 2x and 4+ but the depth of the UBC squad set up the final 8+ race in the T-Bird favor where UBC was able to power out on the field to secure the program's seventh all-time Championship. 

 
"These guys have done an amazing job staying together as a team. We work hard on being a technical team, so it's something our team takes great pride in. It carried us through the windy conditions of Saturday's racing," said Thunderbirds men's head coach Mike Pearce. "We aim to take a shot at a banner each year, and to do it against the high quality of competition among our Canadian universities is rewarding."


 
The Victoria women secured a total of four medals, two golds, a silver, and a bronze en route to the first-place finish. UBC women's top performance came in the 2- with a gold medal row by Caitlin Lawrence and Julia Tancon. The Thunderbird women found themselves in the thick of the field in some hotly contested races and finished 3rd in both the LW 2x and 8+, 4th in both the LW 4+ and LW1x and 6th in the Women's 1x.


 
UBC was well represented in awards with nominations for Female Athlete of the Year to Julia Tancon and Male Athlete to Joel Cullen and Builder Award to long-time UBC Novice Coach Rob Sinclair. UBC's Mike Pearce won Men's Coach of the Year



On the women's side, Jane Gumley of UVic was named Women's Program Coach of the Year.
  
"We put a lot of emphasis on being gritty and courageous this year while having a lot of trust in our teammates," said Gumley. "I'm incredibly proud of this group of women. They're professional and respectful on and off the water. This group is invested in passing on what they know to the younger classes joining our program. It's rewarding to work with them."
 
The Above and Beyond Athlete of the Year Award went to Rhiannon Crichton and Vienna Scholten of the University of Ottawa, which is awarded to an individual who has gone above and beyond to support university rowing.
 
Joe Rochon of Concordia University and the School of High Technology (ETS Montreal) was named the Coach Builder of the Year.
 
The CURC also announced a new award in honour of Brock head coach Peter Somerwil and named him its first recipient. The Peter Somerwil Award for Development of University Rowing recognizes individuals who support the next generation of rowers and the future of the sport.
 
Individual Major Awards
Women's Athlete of the Year – Alizée Brien (University of Montreal)
Men's Co-Athlete of the Year – Patrick Keane (University of Victoria) and Thomas Markewich & Stephen Harris (Brock University)
Women's Team Coach of the Year – Jane Gumley (University of Victoria)
Men's Team Coach of the Year – Mike Pearce (University of British Columbia)
Above and Beyond Athlete of the Year – Rhiannon Crichton and Vienna Scholten (University of Ottawa)
Coach Builder of the Year – Joe Rochon (Concordia University/ETS)
Peter Somerwil Award for Development of University Rowing – Peter Somerwil
 
Women's Final Point Standings
Victoria 106
Western 100
UBC 90
Queen's 82
Brock 58
Toronto 53
Ottawa 40
Trent 31
Calgary 29
Carleton 25
McGill 22
Montreal 21
StFX 20
Guelph 16
Saskatchewan 15
Dalhousie 13
McMaster 13
Fort Langley 1
Concordia 0
Nipissing 0
Ontario Tech 0
Alberta 0
Waterloo 0
ETS 0
 
Men's Final Point Standings
UBC 123
Brock 104
Victoria 101
Queen's 60
Western 58
McGill 50
Toronto 30
StFX 24
Guelph 22
Carleton 21
Calgary 18
Montreal 17
Waterloo 12
McMaster 11
Trent 9
Dalhousie 7
ETS 6
Fort Langley 5
Nipissing 5
Alberta 3
Ontario Tech 0
Ottawa 0
Saskatchewan 0
 


Women's Medal Races
Women's Single
1 Montreal - 7:16.68; 2 Trent – 7:18.23; 3 Western – 7:28.06
 
Women's Lightweight Single
1 Western – 7:33.50; 2 Ottawa – 7:34.20; 3 Toronto – 7:38.40
 
Women's Eight
1 Victoria – 6:12.27; Queen's – 6:16.69; 3 UBC – 6:17.60
 
Women's Lightweight Double
1 Victoria – 7:01.85; 2 Brock – 7:02.40; 3 UBC – 7:03.70
 
Women's Pair
1 UBC – 7:01.83; 2 Western – 7:02.37; 3 Victoria – 7:04.48
 
Women's Lightweight Four
1 Western – 6:57.13; 2 Victoria – 6:58.05; 3 Queen's – 7:03.01
 
 
 
Men's Medal Races
Men's Lightweight Double
1 Brock – 6:15.90; 2 UBC – 6:19.10; 3 Victoria – 6:24.20
 
Men's Pair
1 UBC – 6:22.60; 2 Queen's – 6:26.68; 3 Victoria – 6:28.63
 
Men's Lightweight Four
1 Brock – 6:08.50; 2 UBC – 6:11.30; 3 Victoria – 6:15.80
 
Men's Single
1 UBC – 6:40.59; 2 Victoria – 6:45.41; 3 Brock – 6:48.69
 
Men's Lightweight Single
1 Victoria – 6:44.77; 2 UBC – 6:49.66; 3 Montreal – 6:56.95


 
Men's Eight
1 UBC – 5:25.23; 2 Victoria – 5:37.12; 3 Brock – 5:39.98

FINAL RESULTS