ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The 2022 OUA Rowing Championships took place at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines this past Saturday. The Marauders looked to build on last year's performance and did just that, returning home with three medals including the team's first gold medal in 20 years.
After a two hour delayed start due to foggy conditions, the fog subsided and the boats took to the water just after 10:30am. McMaster competed in 11 classes with its best finishes coming from the small shells.
The Marauders' top finish of the day came from Nathalie Hilbert (Elmira, Ont.) and Amanda Ciezki (Hamilton, Ont.) in the women's double. The two veterans completed the two kilometre course in just 7:44.400 to cross the finish in first place, ahead of the crews from the Trent Excalibur, Queen's Gaels, Guelph Gryphons and Brock Badgers. Hilbert and Ciezki had a monumental day and became the first Marauders to top the podium since the team was reformed in 2002, earning the first gold for the maroon and grey in 20 years.
McMaster's four women crew in the women's lightweight 4+ impressed on the course, earning a bronze medal for their performance. Heidi Akot (Toronto, Ont.), Brianna Fournier (Westport, Ont.),
Sarah Oresnik (Winnipeg, Man.),
Vivian Lee (North York, Ont.) and coxswain, Jacqueline Huo (Toronto, Ont.) were quick off the start and battled for second position throughout the race. The Marauders finished third behind the Western Mustangs and Guelph Gryphons.
Alexander Barnes (Fonthill, Ont.) and Alexander Cowman (Clinton, Ont.) earned a silver for the Marauders in the men's lightweight 2-, with a time of 7:41.130, less than three seconds off the gold medalists, securing the maroon and grey's third medal of the Championships.
As a team, the McMaster women finished 8th overall while the Marauder men ended the OUA Championship in 9th spot in the team standings. The Western Mustang women and Brock Badger men successfully defended their OUA titles and stood atop the final standings at the 2022 OUA Rowing Championships.
The Marauders bested their 2021 performance by one medal and had a gold medal performance for the first time in 20 years.
Although Saturday marked the official end of the OUA season, the men's and women's teams from McMaster will compete this weekend at the Canadian University Rowing Championships back in St. Catharines. The event will take place back at Henley Island and will be hosted by the Brock Badgers. The Marauders will face the top varsity rowing programs from across the country and will look to add to this season's medal total.
