Taking to the waters of Guelph Lake last weekend for his first Central Ontario Rowing Association competition of the season, Jacopo Stifani acquitted himself quite nicely.

In fact, the 29-year-old Woodbridge native and Middlefield Collegiate teacher in Markham paddled his way to a first-place win and a second-place finish in another event.

Stifani won the 2,000-metre singles event and then joined forces with Alan Oldham in doubles to place second in a 2,000-m race.

Reflecting on his racing debut at the Guelph event, Stifani was happy with how he fared.

“I just wanted to see how my winter training paid off and it seemed to because I won the race with relative ease and was well-rested for my next race in the mens double,” he said.

In the singles race, Stifani noted he got off to a slow start, but atoned for it by the one-fifth mark.

If Stifani hopes to show continued progress during the season, he acknowledged his starts must improve.

“I was last off the start, as usual, but after the 400-m mark, I was in first and maintained that lead until the end. The race confirmed that I need to work on my starts. But my middle 1000 is strong and that is where I make up the most ground.”