Gainesville Area Rowing shines at 60th Annual FSRA Sweep Championship
Press release from Gainesville Area Rowing
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gainesville Area Rowing (GAR) delivered a historic performance last weekend at the 60th Annual Florida Scholastic Rowing Association (FSRA) Sweep Championship held at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota. With eight boats competing, six advanced to the finals, taking home two State Championships — a remarkable achievement not ever seen for GAR.
Highlighting the weekend’s successes were two gold medal victories:
- Sophie Goldstein and Addy Mathews captured the state championship title in the Girls Pair, dominating their event with an exceptional performance by finishing over 5 seconds in front of second place.
- The Boys Junior 4x (coxed by Alayna Holder with rowers Eli Wells, Mason Turek, Branan Andreu, and Miles Lloyd) also took home gold, solidifying GAR’s reputation among Florida’s rowing programs.
Other notable finishes included:
- Girls Junior 8+ — 6th place finish (Miriam Siroky coxswain, Katharine Carodine, Sadie Parker, Natalie Jones, Brooklyn Wicker, Hannah Jones, Macy Gleason, Stella Goldstein, and Eva Bailey)
- Boys Pair — 7th place (Lucas Burger and Bode Snider)
- Boys Freshman 4+ — 4th place, narrowly missing the podium by just two seconds (Emma Jones coxswain, Wesley Lloyd, Blain Harrison, Arthur Klein, and Parker Krzykowski)
- Boys 1st Varsity 4+ — 8th place (Isaac Ang coxswain, Maxwell Burger, Nolan Doody, Matthew Krzykowski, and Beckett Kallman)
GAR Head Coach Garrett Bauer said, “This weekend was a presentation of a strong team, not just because of the medals, but because nearly every boat showed up ready to compete at a championship level. It’s the most competitive performance Gainesville Area Rowing has delivered in over 20 years. I am very proud to be a part of it.“
Building on this momentum, the team will travel to Gainesville, Georgia on May 10–11 to compete at the USRowing Southeast Regional Championship, aiming to continue their record-breaking season.
GAR’s performance at this year’s FSRA Sweep Championship marks one of the program’s strongest state championship showings in over two decades, underscoring a new era of success for Gainesville’s premier rowing club.
About Gainesville Area Rowing
Gainesville Area Rowing, Inc. (GAR) is a non-profit Florida corporation created to promote rowing as a sport in the Gainesville/Alachua County area. GAR teaches physical fitness, nutrition, and psychological skills that lead rowers to heightened mental and physical self-awareness. Through the active participation of its members, GAR provides the equipment and professional coaching staff to compete on a national level. GAR includes a high school program, a middle school program, and a Masters (adult) program.
Middle and high school age youth are encouraged to give rowing a try- either by contacting Head Coach Garrett Bauer via the website or by registering for one of our Learn to Row summer camps.