MTU vs. UST & MSB Duel 2022

As the sun rose on the Mississippi…

Michigan Tech Crew lifted their vessels down the steep ramp that led to Minnesota Boat Club’s dock. Time was of the essence, as a quick duel was about to go down in history this October 29th. After a quick 2-kilometer warmup, the three teams - Michigan Tech, University of St. Thomas (UST), and Minnesota Boat Club (MBC) - snaked across the calm morning waters for a 3-kilometer race upstream, followed by a quick break, then a longer 5-kilometer race downstream - back to the docks. Rays of sunlight glittered on the shoulders of chilled rowers as the grueling 3-kilometer race commenced. Crew members would later speculate that the seemingly not-so-short 3-kilometer race had been underestimated in distance, as the general consensus was that the 3-kilometer felt much more like a 5-kilometer distance-wise. After a brief rest, the boats flew through the downstream 5-kilometer race, pushing at each other’s sterns from start to finish. Following the duel, crew members enjoyed bagels, bananas, and ‘choccy milk’ with the other teams before the results were announced. A special thanks to the Minnesota Boat Club for hosting us, and the University of St. Thomas for the excellent fight on the water.

Notable performances (3-kilometer):

Co-ed Novice 4+ - Rachel Kinnamon, Simon Arnold, Nathan Mertens, Jayden Chow, and Orin Hubert (cox) came in 1st with Michigan Tech’s Novice B boat (18:09.00), which sped ahead of both their sister Novice A boat (3rd place) (19:09.00) and UST (2nd and 4th place). This crew blew everyone out of the water as they glided past their competition, executing excellent race strategy and technique.

Women’s 2x - Raina Ciecko and Abi Ruthenberg formed the powerhouse that was MTU’s Double A (20:37.00). The pair tore through the course, leaving the MTU B (22:44.00, 3rd place) and UST (2nd place) far behind their wake as they went for gold. These ladies made this race look like a walk in the park, with 1st place to prove it.

Notable performances (5-kilometer):

Men’s Varsity 8+ - The men’s varsity 8+ (20:04.00) pulled extremely hard and snagged 1st place against UST (2nd place) and MBC (3rd place). Towards the end of the race, UST began creeping up on the 8+, but a last-ditch effort was set in place by a few Power-10s, which managed to pull them just 2 seconds in front of UST, securing their win.

Co-ed Novice 4+ - Rachel Kinnamon, Simon Arnold, Nathan Mertens, Jayden Chow, and Orin Hubert (cox) reeled in their second win as MTU’s Novice B boat (24:01.00). These dedicated rowers still had plenty left in the tank after their 3-kilometer win to get 1st place against MTU’s Novice A boat (24:56.00 - 2nd place) and UST (3rd and 4th place).

Women’s 2x - These highfliers didn’t let anyone get in their way as they cruised toward their win. Raina Ciecko and Abi Ruthenberg dominated again during their second race (26:04.00), snatching first against MTU’s Double B (27:39.00, 2nd place) and UST (3rd place).