THE ATENEO Rowing Team finished their week long Varsity Boat Race last October 10 to 16 at Putrajaya, Malaysia without a medal, but with strong finishes in all boats.
The team participated in men’s pair, lightweight men’s four, lightweight women’s double sculls, women’s pair, women’s single sculls, and men’s eight. All boats were able to end the competition in the finals and the semi-finals rounds.
The first heat had the men’s pair of Giuseppe Bonavitacola and Gerald Manalo finish fourth out of six boats, which put them in a separate bracket, the repechage, which gave them a second chance race.
Joining them in the repechage were the women’s pair of Gillian Guzman and Kezia Kong, who finished second out of six in the heats. Another was the lightweight women’s double sculls composed of Diane Mata and Giulia Go, who finished last in the heats. Lastly in the repechage was the men’s eight boat, which had Rafael Tiongson, Karlo Plata, Beto Vergara, Joey Aycardo, Giueseppe Bonavitacola, Gerald Manalo, Toby Tarroza, and John Miranda.
The men’s eight boat ended the heat fourth out of four, but they found better luck in the repechage with a close third out of five finish which had the team dueling the second place boat . “We saw the results and we were one second away,” says Tarroza recalling the race. Sadly, their run would end at the semi-finals, as they finished sixth out of six boats.
The men’s pair fared better as they attained a second place finish out of the six boats in the repechage. The pair fell just short of third place as they finish the competition at fourth in the semi-finals.
Aside from the men’s pair, the rowing team had two more boats in the semi-finals, which were the lightweight men’s four and the women’s single sculls, the only singles event for Ateneo. The lightweight men’s four was composed of Rafael Tiongson, Karlo Plata, Beto Vergara, and Joey Aycardo, while Cookie Salandanan represented the Blue and White in the women’s single sculls.
The lightweight men’s four nabbed a third out of four finish for their heats which was good enough to send them straight to the semi-finals. However, they were only able to walk away with a fifth out of six finish.
Salandanan of the women’s single sculls accomplished a third place finish in her heats but she fared worse in the semi-finals, as she finished last with a time that was almost a minute and thirty seconds slower than that of her heat.
The finals had two boats both occupied by the women’s team of the rowing team. The women’s pair of Guzman and Kong swiftly exited the repechage with a second place finish once again, while the lightweight women’s double sculls of Mata and Go finished third out of six in the repechage. Both boats ultimately finished fifth place in the finals ending Ateneo’s run in this year’s Varsity Boat Race.
According to Guzman, the team performed well compared to previous years. “This is the first year that every single event got into either semi-finals or finals,” says Guzman. She also thanks coach Nicanor Jasmin for ensuring that they are not just doing well as athletes but also as individuals. “One of the main reasons we succeeded so much this season was because of our coach,” says Guzman.
The performance of the rowing team was doubly impressive considering how the team had several rookies. The Ateneo rowing team has a very bright future ahead as the rookies, “have nowhere to go but up,” according to Guzman. Men’s team member Tarroza also agrees with Guzman’s statement: “[that is] why I trust this team so much.” The rookies were described to have high potential and with a competition under their belt, making their next competition an exciting performance.
