Pitt Rowing Club Office of Student Life Pitt Rowing Club 130 William Pitt Union Pittsburgh, PA 15260 www.pitt.edu/~crew

Press Release May 18, 2015

Can’t Keep Pitt Crew Down Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – We had a rough start to our regatta this past weekend and it had nothing to do with rowing. Thursday night, while we were rigging our boats and going out for a practice row, two of our vans had the right sliding door windows shattered, and multiple bags containing laptops, wallets, keys and other valuables were stolen. For myself and the other members of vans that were broken into, the next 6 hours were filled with shock, confusion, anger, news coverage, and waiting for the police. We ended up waiting for the police for 5 hours before they eventually arrived. The primary drivers of the vans were then taken to two different precincts to answer some questions from detectives. When it was all said and done, we didn’t get to bed until about 1:00 AM. Somehow, the news got wind of our story and they were on scene quickly. Next thing you know, we are the talk of the regatta and our president and myself are getting contacted to do multiple interviews that night and the next day. There were reporters waiting for us outside my vans, stopping members of team as we would walk from our trailer to the bathroom. Just distraction after distraction. Most teams would let that affect them. They couldn’t handle that kind of adversity. But screw that, Pitt Crew was built on adversity. We get thrown curveballs every day. Hell, I don’t even remember what a fastball straight down the middle looks like. So despite all the distractions, all the adversity, we went to work. Pitt Crew would go on to advance to Petite Finals in the Women’s Varsity and Novice 8+’s and the third final in the Men’s Varsity and Novice 8+’s. The Women’s Varsity 4+ advanced to the Grand Finals in the JV 4+. The Men’s Varsity 4+ also advanced to a respected final. The Women’s boats were forced to race their finals in 40 degree weather through a steady downpour of rain. It was just on the brink of being unrowable. But that’s just another obstacle to overcome. The Varsity women put together a great race coming 5th place in their final. The novices also put together a solid race coming in 6th. The 4+ would take 5th in their final as well. Unfortunately, all the men’s finals would be canceled due to the weather.

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Oh yeah, one more thing…PITT CREW TOOK HOME SOME MEDALS THIS WEEKEND!!!! The Women’s Varsity 2- took home the GOLD medal in their event. Claire Marshalek (right) and Kristi Bushman (left) didn’t even look like they were breaking a sweat as they crossed the finish line lengths ahead the competition. In addition, Mike Yaron took home the bronze medal in the Men’s 1x, rowing more and more like a true Romanian every day. Congrats to all rowers!

We want to thank all the family, parents, and alumni who reached out to us to offer aid and support during our time of need. We were not aware of the true size of our Pitt Crew family. We are truly humbled to be a part of such a great organization and are working every day to make everyone proud! We are not done yet, the Men’s Varsity 8+ will be heading down to ACRA’s May 27 & 28th. Hail to Pitt!

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Results Women’s Varsity 8+

5th in Petite Finals

Women’s Varsity 4+

5th in Grand Finals

Women’s Varsity 2-

1st in Grand Finals (GOLD)

Women’s Varsity 1x

Petite Finals

Men’s Varsity 8+

3rd Final

Men’s Varsity 4+

5th Final

Men’s Varsity 1x

3rd in Grand Finals (BRONZE)

Women’s Novice 8+

6th in Petite Finals

Men’s Novice 8+

3rd Final

Men’s Varsity 2-

Scratch due to scheduling changes for weather

Feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions about races, locations, directions, or anything else. For complete schedules, results, and media, visit the team’s website at www.pitt.edu/~crew.

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