LI Port Rowing group, hardened by rough waters of…
Heartbreak struck the varsity eight Port Rowing boat two years in the past.
“We missed out on qualifying for nationals — we missed it by 0.158 seconds,” senior four-seat man Tilden Vaezi instructed The Post.
Vaezi and the opposite seven members of his racing shell took their slim miss to coronary heart — particularly on behalf of the 2023 seniors — and purchased into upping their sport for the North Shore membership, which consists of about 100 younger athletes.
Vaezi’s 4 boat made it to nationals final 12 months, ending twentieth.
And now, Vaezi and his guys are among a team-record 46 boys and women — practically double final 12 months’s complete — that the elite program is sending to 9 occasions at the Youth National Championships, which start June 12 in Sarasota, Fla.
“I think it just shows how much everyone wants it. … You spend roughly an average of three hours a day, six days a week here,” mentioned Vaezi, a Brown commit who lauded the freshmen on this 12 months’s group.
Members of the Port Rowing boys group observe on June 3, 2025. Heather Khalifa for New York Post
Energy from the report 12 months is palpable from the second you enter Port Washington’s Hempstead Harbor boathouse for the membership group that, while principally made up of Paul D. Schriber High School college students, also welcomes rowers from across Long Island from center college up — even those whose faculties have a program.
Tight-knit crew
“The environment definitely just brings up everybody’s confidence levels, for sure,” senior four-boat coxswain Tea Cotronis mentioned.
Since center college, she discovered a home with the group after feeling her small dimension was a drawback in volleyball and basketball.
Now, there’s no household she would moderately attempt to win it all with.
“Knowing and trusting that your teammates are putting in as much hard work as you are makes it a lot easier to come to practice every day,” added Cotronis, who will row at the University of Wisconsin.
Adding to the 2025 pleasure, the Port women have an reverse case examine: Garden City subject hockey and lacrosse star Lauren Marino, who had never even picked up an oar until two years in the past, is now a group chief.
Members of the Port Rowing women group practices on June 3, 2025. Heather Khalifa for New York Post
After being swayed by pals to attempt an ergometer exercise, Marino bought immediately hooked despite “a terrible first week on the water.”
Just a few months later, she earned a spot in the 2024 nationals, rowing the 2 seat in a women 4 shell.
“Then I was being recruited by a bunch of schools, and I ultimately chose Notre Dame,” the South Bend, Ind.-bound senior mentioned. “It was all in a five-month time span, so it’s pretty crazy.”
Senior four-boat coxswain Tea Cotronis will next be rowing at Wisconsin. Heather Khalifa for New York Post
Hell or high water
It’s no accident that Port athletes can shine so shortly in their tenure, women head coach Pat Clary mentioned.
Port Rowing women coach Pat Clary watches his group’s exercise. Heather Khalifa for New York Post
They courageous the weather in less-than-ideal observe waters and a seaside he known as “the crucible for coxswains” to launch out of.
“We have tough conditions out here on Hempstead Harbor. … It’s pretty choppy out there, and the kids show up every day. They work hard through it,” mentioned the coach, who has a sarcastic “best water in America” flag in the Port boathouse.
Ultimately, though, it’s all been building character since the 40-degree practices in March, mentioned Clary — who, along with boys head coach Aaron Bosgang, shall be driving a trailer with all 9 boats plus a few from a Westchester membership while the group flies to Florida.
“Worst-case scenario, if the water is rough, we have teams that clutch their pearls and get nervous over a little bit of wake — and that’s just a Tuesday to us.”
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