The men’s Rowing flexed its muscles for the second year in a row at the Knecht Cup in Camden, New Jersey last weekend with each of its boats qualifying in its respective grand final. Despite a dramatic schedule shift that cut the event down to a single day of competition, resulting in three races in one day for some team members and a withdrawal from participation in the two-seat event, the Raiders made the most of their opportunity. Taking the misfortune that came with the mid-April snowstorm in stride, Colgate’s second Varsity Four emphatically blew away its competition by distancing itself from second-place and Patriot League rival Lehigh by 16 seconds with a time of 7:12.9. Sophomores Antonio Perez, Parker Paulin, Marc Cassone, Peter Leahey, and first-year Tara Desai (cox) manned the gold-medal boat. Immediately after the second Varsity Four’s triumph, Leahey jumped into the second Varsity Eight boat and helped Colgate earn a strong fourth-place finish. The first Varsity Eight placed just as well, coming short of bronze medalist Holy Cross by less than half a second with a time of 6:02.8. The first Varsity Four came within six seconds of a first-place finish, closely trailing vengeful Dowling for a silver medal.

Meanwhile, four was the winning number for the women at the Knecht Cup. Both the Varsity and Novice Four boats took first place for Colgate in Camden. The Varsity Four edged out the University of Rhode Island by four-tenths of a second to capture gold with a time of 8:34.0. First-year Allison Patchen (cox), senior Lauren Realberg, sophomore Sarah Kruse and juniors Caitlyn Perlman and Yasmin Rozwadowski manned the boat. In the Novice Four race, sophomores Melissa Glasser and Meeann Dingman (cox) and first-years Laura London, Nicole La Hausse and Olivia Roat destroyed the field, finishing a full 15 seconds before second-place and Patriot League rival Lafayette with a time of 8:34.1. That time was a tenth of a second slower than their varsity teammates. The Varsity Eight finished strongly with a fifth-place finish, recording a time of 7:11.9, about six seconds behind the champion Tar Heels of North Carolina. The Second Varsity Eight did not qualify for its final round, placing fifth in its preliminary race.

The women will take a short trip to Syracuse on Friday to challenge UConn, Buffalo, Syracuse and Eastern Michigan. The men will battle old rival Hobart on Lake Moraine for the Seneca Cup on Saturday. The adversaries have challenged each other on numerous occasions since the founding of Colgate’s club program in the 1970’s.