Pitt crew launches season at Head of Ohio

With thousands of people gathered outside of Heinz Field on a beautiful Saturday afternoon,… With thousands of people gathered outside of Heinz Field on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, you would think there would be a football game.

Not on this Saturday. This day was for rowing. This day was for the Pitt crew squad.

Oct. 6 marked the annual Head of the Ohio Regatta on the Allegheny River. With the backdrop of downtown Pittsburgh across the river and placed right next to the home of the Steelers and Panthers, the tournament attracted a sizable crowd filled with family and fans alike.

This regatta was not just a college event. More than 80 universities, clubs and even high schools entered boats in various competitions, and the Pitt crew team placed 25 boats in the races.

Rowers can either be novices or varsity members. Novices are either freshmen or rookies. The varsity members are a level above the novices, but everyone meshes together in a unified atmosphere.

Head coach Daniel Grancea is in his third year with the Pitt program. He is a former rower for the Romanian National Team. Joining him is first-year assistant Victor Gallik.

Mark Oleksiuk is the captain for the men’s team, while Amy Riccobelli leads the women.

The Head of the Ohio featured several different events in four group categories. There were competitions in the high school, collegiate, master and open levels. Although most of those groupings are self-explanatory, the open category is a bit different.

“The open group is unrestricted, it usually has the best competition,” Pitt crew team vice president and varsity member Christopher Brennan said.

This means that not only the universities, but clubs and independent rowing squads can enter this section and compete. The diversification leads to more competitive matches, as well as the opportunity to observe other top-flight rowing programs.

Pitt crew entered boats in both the collegiate and the open races. Also of note is that this regatta’s competition was scored on time trials, not real-time races among boats.

The Head of the Ohio was the first affair for the crew team this fall. This means that the veterans were primed to get back while the youngsters got their first taste of competitive rowing.

“It’s nerve-wracking until you hit the water,” freshman Amanda Cardo said after aiding the Pitt women’s novice eight-rower team to a third-place finish. “My girls were awesome out there.

“Considering it’s our first race, you have to get out there, feel the boat and row.”

Another novice, junior Chris Olson, regrets not joining the team sooner.

“I probably should’ve started as a freshman,” he said. “After your first year, you really learn how to race.”

Races happen with assorted amounts of people in the boat. Most events place four or eight in a boat, but some special events have only one or two competing against other teams.

The Head of the Ohio proved to be a massive event, with a seemingly endless array of tents scattered outside Heinz Field. The thousands competing and in attendance had to deal with the sweltering heat, which was almost 90 degrees throughout the afternoon.

On Saturday, the women were more successful than their male teammates. Pitt won gold medals for their first-place times in the four- and eight-rower women’s open lightweight.

One of Pitt’s entries into the eight-rower collegiate women’s novice took home gold with a time of 21:07.1033. This followed their already impressive third-place finish in the four-rower novice.

“The women did very well today,” Brennan said.

Not that the men’s squad was without accolades. It had quite an impressive day as well.

The men’s four-rower open team paced the other competitors with a time of 15:31.10678. The men’s eight-rower open team finished third out of 10 teams to earn bronze medals.

The four-rower open lightweight squad also brought back medals, finishing second in its event.

The elite squad throughout the Head of the Ohio was undoubtedly the team from the University of Maryland -which was at or near the top in nearly every event they entered.

Pitt was not far behind, however, and its impressive showing could be the starting point to another successful season. Its next meet is in Boston two weeks from now, but some crew members are looking ahead to the Car-du-Pitt competition in November against more local competition.

“Once we learn how to get the boat set, we’re going to blow by Duquesne next month,” Olson said.