As spring is finally rolling in, so is the second half of the Colgate men’s rowing season. The men’s rowing team came out strong for their spring debut at the 35th Memorial Murphy Cup Regatta, which took place on Saturday, March 25, at Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Regatta was hosted by Temple University. The Raiders had previously closed out their fall racing schedule in mid-November at the Bill Braxton Regatta, giving them ample time to train effectively for  the spring season. Fortunately, the men did not face any of the serious inclement weather that they have gotten used to when they competed this past weekend in Philadelphia. 

The Colgate men’s varsity four squad raced in the seventh event of the day,

beginning in the preliminaries at 9 a.m. Colgate’s varsity four team consists of senior Justin Manzi, senior Clarke Cady-McCrea, sophomore Ben Halligan and first-year Luke Smith. Colgate placed first in their heat in lane two, at 6:55.97, placing ahead of North Carolina (7:10.66), Washington College (7:16.17) and

Delaware (7:53.86).

Not only did the Raiders notch the fastest time in the preliminaries by nearly 15 seconds, but they also went on to place first in the varsity four finals later that afternoon with a staggering time of  6:32.06. They finished 21 seconds ahead of second-place team North Carolina, who came in next at 6:53.60. 

The men’s novice eight team also competed on Saturday morning, and was comprised entirely of first-year athletes, including Zack Shanus, Jack Foley, Peter Baker, Andrew Pratt, Tom Parker, Eamon Reynolds, Jay Eastman, Nick Schlein and Grace Ewles. Racing in lane two, Colgate men finished in 6:45.61, with a split of 21.17. This time also allowed for the novice eight to advance to the finals. Colgate crossed the line in fourth place, clocking in at 6:24.16, and a split of 23.31, improving 31 seconds from heat to final. The Colgate men finished behind first place Temple (6:00.85), St. Joseph’s (6:14.51) and Virginia (6:16.32). Trailing behind the Colgate novice eight were teams from Rhode Island (6:32.97) and Pittsburgh (6:43.36).

For both teams, the Colgate Men’s Rowing Twitter account (@GateMensRowing) summarized the weekend as a “big win” for all the men involved in the weekend’s races.

“It was a good day for the team. The four dominated and the eight rowed a great race. Considering we haven’t had any water time, it’s a great indicator of where we can be once our lake thaws,” assistant coach Jonathan Rost said.

The success at this first Regatta of 2017 proves to be the product of an intense off-season, potentially foreshadowing a favorable string of performances from these men in the weeks to follow. Next up for the men is a trip to Mercer, New Jersey, where they will compete at the Knecht Cup Regatta from April 8-9. It will be interesting to see if the Raiders can capitalize on this success and carry their momentum into the other races this season.