The Stony Brook Rowing Club competed against National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCA) teams from 21 schools on the East Coast in the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championships at Gifford Pinchot State Park in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

In the preliminary heats, Stony Brook’s men’s novice 4 team won third place with a time of 08:03, surpassing the team from New York University and Pennsylvania State University. However, the team ranked sixth in the finals, finishing with a time of 08:56. Penn State caught up with other teams and took the lead, finishing the race in 07:58.

The women’s novice 4 team had the same fate as the men’s, finishing in third place in the preliminary heats while falling to sixth in the finals. Lafayette College won first place in both the preliminary and final heats.

The men’s varsity 4 also ranked third in the preliminary heats. In the finals, the team lost by a margin of nine tenths of a second to Penn State, finishing in fourth place with a time of  07:41. Bucknell University won first place with a time of 7:30.

The women’s varsity 4 team placed sixth in the preliminary heats. However, the team made slight progress in the finals, finishing fifth with a time of 10:51. Stockton University won first place by over a minute, crossing the finish line at 9:05.

Rowing is a challenge in both teamwork and perseverance. The week before the competition, all the crew members went to practice at 5:15 a.m. at Port Jefferson Yacht Club Monday to Friday. They practiced at least an hour a day.

“You have to row for yourself, and you have to row for each other,” Maggie Myers, the coach of the rowing club, said. “Rowing is an ultimate team sport, you will never row alone.”

Ten new rowers joined the rowing club this semester, nine of whom participated in their first races at Lewisberry.

The next race will be held on next Saturday, March 6, at the New York State Collegiate Championships in Saratoga Springs, New York.