MILWAUKEE – MSOE rowing kicked off their season and the 2024 Homecoming festivities on Saturday, as the Raiders competed in the annual Milwaukee River Challenge, highlighted by the Men's 4+ boat taking second place as the Red and White raced against teams from Marquette, Purdue, University of Wisconsin and more.

RESULTS
The men's team submitted two boats for the action-packed day on the water, as MSOE's crew of Liam Otten, Asuka Suzuki, senior captain Trey Miller, Ryan LeMay and coxswain Ray Tinianow powered their way to a second-place finish in the Men's Open 4+, finishing in 18:02.826, behind only Lincoln Park Boat Club and four seconds ahead of third place Purdue.  In the Men's Open 8+ MSOE would finish in third, just eleven seconds behind second place finisher Purdue, as the Red and White lineup featured Tinianow at the helm once more, with Otten, Suzuki, Miller, and Lemay joined by David Frenkel, Garin Schilling, junior captain Andre DeWet-Daniels and Aiden Bush.

The women's squad also submitted two boats but were unable to finish the Women's Open 8+ due to equipment malfunctions during the race.  The Raiders were able to fully compete in the Women's Open 4+ as coxswain Autumn Bunker led the Red and White crew of Ava Pike, Allison Bauer, team captain Annika West and Katerina Flierl to a 17^th place finish with a time of 22:10.267.

COACHES REMARKS
"Our coxswain Ray Tinianow gets high praise for steering an unbelievable course during the Men's Open 8+ race" said Head Coach of Men's Rowing Chuck Stollenwerk. "MSOE narrowed the gap between Purdue from last year by 20 seconds and passed 3 crews at the junction of the Menominee and Milwaukee Rivers. All in all, it was a great couple races from a very young crew. We have only 1 senior in those lineups, and I was extremely satisfied with how we looked today."

"It was great Saturday at Milwaukee River Challenge, and the team enjoyed all the support from alumni, MSOE staff, family and friends" said Head Coach of Women's Rowing Sydney Large following her first event at the helm of the program. "Our 4+ had two seniors in the boat and I was excited for them to go down their home course one last time. Unfortunately, equipment malfunctions are a part of racing and the 8+ fell victim to that near the start of the race, I thought the team handled it well and it's given them extra motivation going into Head of the Rock next weekend!"

WHAT'S ON DECK
Next up the two teams will head to Jefferson, Wisconsin on Sunday, October 6^th, for some exhibition races at the Wisco Chase Regatta, as they get ready for the Head of the Rock Regatta on Sunday, October 13^th in Rockford, Ill.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.