Both the men's and women's crew teams were able to test their skills against opponents from around the country and confirm that all of their hard work has been paying off this weekend as they competed in the Knecht Cup, their biggest event of the year.
Freshman Andrew Faulkner was especially proud of the team, stating, "We were racing against D-I and D-II schools, and we held our own as a D-III school."
The men's team had some great finishes, especially in the men's freshman/novice eight event where they placed sixth out of 20 boats, making it to the grand final and finishing with a time of 6:22.0 for the 2,000-meter course. In the boat (from stern to bow) were freshmen Alisha Tuteja (coxswain), Andrew Faulkner, William Cooper, Daniel Bagdorf, Christian Honore, George Reynolds, Marc Webb, Steve Cardinali and William Bagdorf.
The varsity eight, from stern to bow, was composed of junior coxswain Madison West, Josiah Drewein (senior, captain), Chris Vaglia (senior, captain), Taylor Reese (junior), Josh Christ (sophomore), Cameron Ward (junior), Dante Ross (sophomore), Pietro Raneiri (sophomore) and Nick Kreston (sophomore). They were able to capture second out of four boats in the men's varsity eight D-II and D-III event with a time of 6:24.9.
The varsity four of Raheel Zubair (coxswain, junior) and sophomores Larkin Luo, Alexander Baish, Jose De La Guerra and Adam Ammar placed fifth in their heat of six boats with a time of 7:36.9 in the men's varsity four DII-DIII event.
The women's crew team also had a solid outing this weekend.
Freshman coxswain Carolyn Pearce, sophomore stroke Nicole Pangborn, freshman three Lauren Thompson, freshman two Alexis Roy and freshman bow Sam Ruff, who comprise the women's novice four team represented the Jays well, placing third in its heat (8:44.50), fifth in the second semifinal (9:09.7) and fifth in the third final with a time of 8:58.4.
Both the varsity four "A" boat and the varsity four "B" boat placed fourth in their respective heats (8:45.5 and 8:43.9). The "A" comprised of freshman Cox Beth Simmons, freshman stroke Pia Heilmann, senior three Clare Blubaugh, junior two and co-captain Katie Blumer and junior bow and co-captain Rebecca Williamson. The varsity four "B" boat boasts junior coxswain Jenna Rossoff, junior stroke Vanessa Damm, sophomore three Roseann Martin, junior two Courtney Cunningham and junior bow Amelia Whitman.
Captain Williamson seemed generally satisfied with the weekend, saying, "Knecht Cup is a really big regatta with teams from all over the country, so I think the outcome was good overall." She continued her enthusiasm, saying, "The women seem to be improving with every race so the rest of the season should see some good races."
This enthusiasm and cohesiveness was reflected within the rest of the team, especially in freshman Linda Zhou, who exclaimed, "I love our team!" when asked about the team this year.
The Mid-Atlantic Division-III Regional Championships, held in York, Pa. on April 26, will be the next stop for the Jays.
