ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – The Queen's Gaels women's rowing team topped the standings at the OUA Championships in St. Catharines on Sunday, picking up their 13th league banner in school history, and their seventh in the last ten years. The men's squad also picked up an overall medal, as they finished third in the regatta, which was won by Brock.
The Gaels women finished with 95 points, 15 points ahead of second-place Western.
Zola Mehlomakulu was named women's OUA Coach of the Year.
The lightweight women's four with Flurry Hogg, Jen Johnston, Kelsey Hayes, and Anise Truman and Shelby Stinnissen remains undefeated this season, as they won their event in a time of 3:40.40. Danilelle Abusow placed third in the lightweight women's singles and sixth in the women's singles. The lightweight women's double crew of Bekah Brown and Alison Fox took silver in their event. Also finishing second in a close race was the lightweight women's eight with Hogg, Brown, Courtney Coston, Katie Prufer, Sean Peterson, Jen Johnston, Kelsey Hayes, Anise Truman, and coxswain Lindsey Wilson.
The Women's coxed four with Emily Home, Liz Price, Michelle Truax, Tori Graham, and coxswain Sean Whitehall placed third in their final. The women's double with Elise Hoffmann, and Larkin Davenport-Huyer won their event in a time of 4:09.50. In the final race of the day Home, Hoffmann, Price, Truax, Graham and Davenport- Huyer were joined by Chloe DesRoches and Emily Jewell to win the women's eight in a time of 3:21.65, giving the Gaels the gold medal.
On the men's side, the Gaels finished third with 54 points, behind Brock (113) and Western (85).
The lightweight men's eight crew of Jordan Rendall, Jordan Wille, Alan Payno-Montoya, Pat McCrady, Matt Christie, Mark Bonar, Brendan Coffey, Chris Zakos, and coxswain Jacob Koudys brought home gold with a time of 2:59.36.
Zakos, Coffey, McCrady, Christie and Koudys placed third in the lightweight fours, only two seconds off the first place crew. Payno Montoya raced the lightweight men's single, placing fourth with a time of 3:54.29.
The men's four with Joe Kunkel, Albert Harkema, Robert Cooper, Eric Farquharson, and coxswain Stephen Tuffner placed third in their final. The heavyweight men's eight with Will Kennedy, John Ross, Stephen Holloway, Mike Howard, Scott Macdonald, Joey Coward, Shane Mullen, Jake Rothman, and coxswain Bailey Mackenzie placed fourth in their event in a time of 3:00.74.
The Gaels close out the rowing season next week, at the Canadian University Rowing Championships on Burnaby Lake, B.C.
with files from Brock Sports Information.
