This weekend the women’s crew team obtained the program’s first ever first place finishes at the Knecht Cup in Philadelphia. The men’s team sent three boats to the finals and finished with two second place finishes and a sixth place finish.

The women’s team started the day on Saturday with a first place finish in the women’s Varsity 4 heat. Seniors Lauren Schmetterling and Vicky Hulit, sophomore Shannon Jackson and junior Kalin Hennegan rowed for Colgate, with sophomore Jillian Anderson as coxswain, for a time of 7:43.68. They advanced to the semi-finals, where they again finished first crossing the finish at 7:40.42 and beating the next fastest boat in their heat by 16.87 seconds. In the Grand Final, the Raiders finished in first place with their best time of the day, 7:33.50.

Also winning gold at the Knecht Cup was the women’s Novice 4. With first-years Louisa Jelaco, Larissa Pauli, Natalie Bauman and Kate Thomson rowing and Stephanie Hamilton as coxswain, the boat finished its first heat with a time of 8:18.61 and followed with another first place finish in the semis, dropping its time down to 7:57.34. In the Grand Final, the boat finished well ahead of its competitors, achieving open water before the finish line and winning at 7:57.74.

Colgate’s 2V 4 also did well, finishing second in the semi-final race with a time of 8:17.02. Senior Laura Crawford, sophomores Katie Johnescu, Kirsten Kellstrom and Lauren Davis rowed with first-year Gabby Cambanis as coxswain and finished fourth in the Grand Final, coming in at 8:20.22.

The women’s team also competed in Varsity 8 and Second Varsity 8 boats, but neither boat made the finals, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in their heats.

Senior Marc Cassone and sophomore Ben Jones were the first to compete for the men’s team in the Varsity 2 event and placed third in their heat with a time of 8:01.21 which qualified them for the semi-final race. There they again secured a third place finish thanks to their best time of the day, 7:42.8. The men did not do quite as well in the in the Grand Final, however, placing sixth with a time of 7:50.17.

The men’s Varsity 4 competed next, with juniors Sam Walker, Matt Woodrow and James Clinton along with sophomore Rob Bickhart rowing for Colgate, and sophomore May Bayer as coxswain. In the first heat, the boat had a tight race, coming in second place behind Iona by only a difference of .4 seconds, and finishing with a time of 6:40.4. During the Grand Final, the team experienced a disappointing second place finish. After holding the lead for the majority of the race, the team eventually gave up the victory to

Philadelphia. Their final time for the Grand Final was 6:42.79.

Rowing the Novice 4 for Colgate were first-years Pierre Gross, Owen Myers, Spencer Brooks and Stephen Dickinson, with Robert Hendrickson as coxswain. The boat finished second in the heat with a time of 7:21.87 and moved onto the semi-finals, where they finished in second place with their best time of the day, 6:59.27. The Raiders then finished second place in the Grand Final with a time of 7:10.45, crossing the finish line after their main competitors from both the semi-final and Grand Final, Mercyhurst A.

The women’s team will continue training for their next race, the Patriot League Championships on April 25, while the men will compete in the Seneca Cup in Geneva, NY on Saturday, April 17.

Contact Katie Rice at [email protected]