Welland, Ont. – The University of Victoria men's rowing team captured their seventh Canadian University Rowing Championship title while the women posted a runner-up finish at the 2021 Canadian University Rowing Championships, Nov. 6-7.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday Time Trials

• All Victoria crews (men's and women's) secured spots in the Sunday finals races, having placed in the top six in each of their time trial races.
• The Vikes saw three first-place finishes on Saturday, beginning with Patrick Keane in the men's 1x, finishing with a time of 7:09.06.
• The women's pair duo of Kirsten Edwards and Alexis Cronk also claimed a first-place finish, clocking in at 7:32.587.
• UVic saw a final top-spot finish from the women's 8+ boat of Helen Ross, Piper Battersby, Eliza-Jane Kitchen, Edwards, Cronk, Maggie Hemphill, Danae McCulloch, Noa Hardcastle, and Adriana Rooker, who defeated the 12-boat field with a time of 6:26.500.
• No Victoria boat finished lower than fourth, with four finishing second, three finishing third, and two in fourth.

Sunday Finals

• The men's side claimed the program's seventh Canadian University Rowing Championship, the most by a single school in the history of the event, accumulating 114 points over six races.
• Patrick Keane picked up the first finals win for the Vikes, capturing the Lightweight 1x gold with a 7:18.143 race.
• Teammates Giancarlo DiPompeo and Matthew Thompson registered a win in the Lightweight 2x, finishing in 6:43.200.
• The men's Lightweight 4+ of Matthew Thompson, Riley Raso, Patrick Keane, Giancarlo DiPompeo, and Jordan MacDougall took the event crown with a time of 6:30.918.
• The women finished second overall with 104 points, behind UBC with 114. Five points separated UBC (74), Western (71), and UVic (69) heading in to the final race of the day.
• Kirsten Edwards and Alexis Cronk defended their top-spot Saturday finish with a win in the finals, claiming the 2- event crown with their 7:36.939 time.
• In the 1x, Piper Battersby added a gold medal to her collection with a 7:54.123 performance.
• Battersby, Helen Ross, Eliza-Jane Kitchen, Edwards, Cronk, Maggie Hemphill, Danae McCulloch, Noa Hardcastle, and Adriana Rooker posted a 6:21.765 time in the 8+ race to secure a runner-up finish for the Vikes at the CURC's.
• Following the races, Battersby was named the Female Athlete of the Year, while head coaches Jane Gumley and Aalbert Van Schothorst were named the Women's Coach of the Year and Men's Coach of the Year, respectively.

THOUGHTS FROM MEN'S HEAD COACH AALBERT VAN SCHOTHORST
"Winning the banner is the affirmation of all the work done by previous captains, athletes and coaches and is absolutely dedicated to those athletes that did not get to race their last national championships or last Brown Cup due to COVID," said the CURC Men's Coach of the Year. "Their leadership has made this possible and every one of them should see themselves in this impressive result. The light men made history with a clean sweep of the light men's events as we have won the double and the single before but never the coxed four. What's exciting about this event was the athletes back home that could very well have been in one of these boats as the competition for selection was so tight. Moving this depth forward to Brown Cup in the spring shows promise for the program."

RESULTS
Final Men's Team Points – Top 5
1. Victoria - 114
2. UBC - 106
3. Brock - 87
4. Queen's - 80
5. Western - 75
 
Final Women's Team Points – Top 5
1. UBC – 114
2. Victoria – 104
3. Western – 93
4. Queen's – 80
5. Brock - 50
 
Saturday, November 6 Results
Men's 1x
3. Liam Simpson – 7:25.245
 
Women's Lightweight 2x
4. Genevieve Olson and Paige Letham, 7:45.762
 
Men's Lightweight 1x
1. Patrick Keane – 7:09.06
 
Women's 2-
1. Kirsten Edwards and Alexis Cronk – 7:32.587
 
Men's 8+
2. Alec Stapff, Nicholas Murray-Coplen, Liam Hodgins, Haydn Thomas, Connor Attridge, Steven Randall, Jacob Phillips, Mitchell Rodgers, Patrick Keane – 5:55.599
 
Women's Lightweight 4+
4. Paige Letham, Helen Ross, Charisse Faubert, Genevieve Olson, Hannah Meeson – 7:30.713
 
Women's 1x
3. Piper Battersby – 8:14.111
 
Men's Lightweight 2x
2. Giancarlo DiPompeo and Matthew Thompson – 6:50.795
 
Men's 2-
3. Alec Stapff and Connor Attridge – 6:56.053
 
Women's Lightweight 1x
2. Hannah Meeson – 7:50.722
 
Men's Lightweight 4 +
2. Matthew Thompson, Riley Raso, Patrick Keane, Giancarlo DiPompeo, Jordan MacDougall – 6:28.320
 
Women's  8+
1. Piper Battersby, Helen Ross, Eliza-Jane Kitchen, Kirsten Edwards, Alexis Cronk, Maggie Hemphill, Danae McCulloch, Noa Hardcastle, and Adriana Rooker – 6:26.500
 
Sunday, November 7 Results
Men's 1x
4. Liam Simpson – 7:13.614
 
Women's Lightweight 2x
4. Genevieve Olson and Paige Letham – 7:37.64
 
Men's Lightweight 1x
1. Patrick Keane – 7:18.143
 
Women's 2-
1. Kirsten Edwards and Alexis Cronk – 7:36.939
 
Men's 8+
2. Alec Stapff, Nicholas Murray-Coplen, Liam Hodgins, Haydn Thomas, Connor Attridge, Steven Randall, Jacob Phillips, Mitchell Rodgers, Patrick Keane – 5:48.717
 
Women's Lightweight 4+
4. Paige Letham, Helen Ross, Charisse Faubert, Genevieve Olson, Hannah Meeson 7:21.450
 
Women's 1x
1. Piper Battersby – 7:54.123
 
Men's Lightweight 2x
1. Giancarlo DiPompeo and Matthew Thompson – 6:43.200
 
Men's 2-
4. Alec Stapff and Connor Attridge - 6:53.791
 
Women's Lightweight 1x
2. Hannah Meeson – 7:50.722
 
Men's Lightweight 4+
1. Matthew Thompson, Riley Raso, Patrick Keane, Giancarlo DiPompeo, Jordan MacDougall – 6:30.918
 
Women's 8+
2. Piper Battersby, Helen Ross, Eliza-Jane Kitchen, Kirsten Edwards, Alexis Cronk, Maggie Hemphill, Danae McCulloch, Noa Hardcastle, and Adriana Rooker – 6:21.765