Northville Rowing Makes History at State Championships

Northville Rowing competed in the Division 1 Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan 2021 Championship Regatta held on May 22 at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For the first time in state history a single team has won Overall Men’s, Overall Women’s, and Overall Combined points, taking all three trophies to become state champions. Northville exceeded expectations as 17 boats advanced to the finals late Saturday afternoon, capturing 3 gold, 6 silver, and 2 bronze event medals.

The Men’s 2V/Jr 8+ demonstrated the depth and determination of this team by taking gold. Radhika Ajmera (sophomore coxswain), Drew DiFrancesco, Aaron Kemnitz (seniors), Shivang Kapoor, Will Mack, (juniors), Leyton DeMeo, Ben Kemnitz (sophomores), Kareem Abbassi, Daniel DeAlmeida (freshmen) powered through with a winning time of 4:19. Not to be outdone, the Women’s Junior 4+ of Hannah Sondreal (senior coxswain), Riley Finn (junior), Elizabeth Hartigan, Natasha Kobelsky, Brigita Sumskas (sophomores), earned gold with a time of 5:27. Standout freshmen Avery DiFrancesco, DeAlmeida, Abbassi, Joe Siddall with junior coxswain, Lillie Gregory, also took home gold with their winning time of 4:57.

The future of Northville Rowing is bright with silver for our Women’s Freshmen 4+ with Adriana Rudolfi (coxswain), Mahita Parulekar, Allison Phillips, Olivia Spradlin, Claire Collyer and their time of 6:04. To round out the afternoon, the Women’s 2V/Jr 8+ of Emily Guan (senior coxswain), Nora Bhandari, Paige Bobak, Abby O’Connell, Taylor Zeimen, Kaylie Zeimen (juniors), Olivia Spradlin, Allison Phillips, Mahita Parulekar (freshmen) took 2nd place, earning silver with a time of 5:12. Emily Walker (senior coxswain), Adam Bis, Russell Kobelsky, Thaddeus Felosak, Nate Bennett, Seth Sharples, Kyle Walter (seniors), Michael Jeromsky (junior), Charlie Huddy (sophomore) time of 4:19 in the Men's Varsity 8+ seized silver. Our sculling duo of Kiana May and Makala Hande earned silver in the Women's Varsity 2x with a time of 5:46. Senior, Ava Kehoe’s time of 6:16 earned her silver in the Women’s Varsity 1x in addition to silver in the Women’s 4x with Kehoe, Hande, May, and Annika Zaar with their time of 5:28. Jacob Mallabo (Varsity 1x) and the Men’s 4x of Huddy, Walter, Sharples, and Bennett collected bronze.

Northville Rowing has had a record-breaking season and continues to improve, earning 11 medals in eighteen events in addition to our 4th, 5th and 6th place finishes. “Northville Rowing has a lot to be proud of this year. Our student athletes have come a long way and overcome a lot of obstacles to get where they wanted to be. A team points State Championship was our goal for the 2020 spring season and the team carried that goal into the 2021 season. We have been working on team speed and team culture for the past few years and all the time and effort came together at the right time and we were able to reach beyond our team goals and we have a great coaching staff, parents, and alumni support that has made it possible for the program to grow from two student athletes in 2009 to over 70. " said Head Coach Nick Bickes about the team's results.

Congratulations to our State Champions and best of luck to the Men’s Varsity 8+ competing this weekend at the National Championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Row Mustangs!

This summer, the Northville Rowing Club will host a variety of Learn to Row camps - For incoming 9th through 12th grade high school students who are interested in rowing, for Middle School aged students who would like to try the sport, as well as an Adult Learn to Row – there is something for everyone! Check out the team website for more information at www.NorthvilleRowing.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!