April is the cruelest month for crew, as the men's and women's teams battled brutal conditions in New Jersey. The crew teams traveled to the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. for the Knecht Cup last weekend and held their own against a deep field of over 50 schools.
The rowers were met by awful weather on Saturday, the first day of the cup, with temperatures in the low 40s, rain and a strong crosswind. Most of the races were forced to use floating starts and others, including the women's novice four, were canceled outright. The weather cleared for Sunday and the times and moods were much better as a result.
Last year, the men's varsity eight competed in the Division II and III race but moved up to the very competitive, full varsity race this time around. The team was met by schools that head coach Steve Perry acknowledged as being "pretty fast." Junior Teddy Drivas of the varsity eight felt that the heat Hopkins was placed into was the most competitive of the three but still knew that his boat could "definitely do well."
The eight finished fifth in their heat, narrowly being beaten out by Mercyhurst and missing a spot in the Petite Final. Team captain Wesley Fredericks, a member of the varsity eight, felt the team performed well and was pleased with their willingness to duke it out with some very experienced boats, including eventual men's eight champion Temple. Perry praised their "good effort" and was obviously satisfied with their move up in class from last season.
If nothing else, Hopkins scored a large mental victory. Racing against the top schools in the field and not being completely overmatched is a sure sign that Hopkins crew is moving in the right direction.
"Just in general in the U.S., interest is rising," Drivas said, "and it's reflected here." Over the last few seasons, Hopkins has had gigantic novice teams full of eager freshmen. As the season wears on, the herd thins as those that aren't exactly cut out for it, who can't deal with the early mornings or simply don't like it weed themselves out and the most dedicated and -- hopefully -- skilled rowers are left. With each season, the Blue Jays look to improve their overall talent level and to race against larger programs, closing the gap between themselves and the area's premier teams.
For the Knecht Cup, Perry saw an opportunity. Most of the schools racing in the lower division race were ones that Hopkins had already beaten by boat-lengths and he wanted his rowers to have a real challenge.
On the women's side of the Knecht Cup, the women's varsity eight had a strong showing as well. The Blue Jays finished ahead of Rutgers-Camden and TCNJ in their Saturday heat and secured a spot in the Division III final. The girls were unable to follow up on their strong sprint, however, and finished last in the final on Sunday. Perry was proud of his team for making the final but knew that their finish was "a disappointment for the boat."
"We at least expected to beat Bryn Mawr," he said.
With the cancellation of the women's novice four, the Hopkins men's novice eight was the lone non-varsity representative in the cup. The boat raced well, finishing second in the Division II/III final. In that race, the Jays found themselves considerably behind winner Washington College but also comfortably ahead of third place Franklin and Marshall.
Hopkins has an important regatta coming up when they host the JHU Invitational on April 15. Hopkins will hold the Invitational for the second year in a row and looks forward to the home course advantage. Drivas sees the familiar river as a "big psychological boost." Along with the overall comfort of racing at home, Drivas sees the value of details -- such as knowing the distance from the bridge to the finish -- as being key. After an unfortunate showing last year in which none of the Hopkins boats, varsity or otherwise, took first, the Jays look to defend their river much more adequately.
"It made us angry," Drivas said. "We're planning on doing much better this year." Fredericks echoed that statement, saying he fully expects the team to row up to their potential this weekend and for their squad to take first. The team knows it would be fitting for them to be able to hoist the medals with their own Hopkins seal on them at the end of the day Saturday.
