July 7, 2008

Philadelphia - Temple University's men's rowing team has been rewarded for their efforts not only in the water, but in the classroom with four members of the team named to the Academic All-Area Team.

Robert Protesto, Thomas Masterson, Bill Gennaro and Don Powers garnered the awards in the Inquirer, with Protesto being named Athlete of the Year. Protesto, a senior mathematics major with a grade point average of 3.73, sat in the seventh seat for the Owls and helped lead the varsity-eight team to victories in the Murphy and Knecht Cups.

Masterson, a sophomore from Radnor, Pa, helped lead the Owls from the stroke position to an upset over 15th-ranked Georgetown, a second place finish at the Bergen Cup and a victory in the Knecht Cup.

Powers, a senior history major, sat in the fifth seat for the Owls. He was part of the varsity-eight that claimed victories in the Murphy and Knecht Cups and took third in the Dad Vail Regatta and the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.