The Fordham University women’s rowing team and men’s club rowing team competed in the Knecht Cup, hosted on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, from April 12 to 13.
Over the weekend, the women’s team competed in several different races. The first varsity four, stroked by junior Seneca Farhy, placed third in their heat and fourth in the semi-finals. However, this boat came in sixth in the Petite Final and 12th overall. The women’s second varsity four, led by sophomore Lucy Cunningham, placed fourth in their heat, third in the Petite Final and ninth overall. The women’s team also had a freshman/novice four, who placed fifth in their Petite Final and eighth overall.
The women’s team had three varsity eights, each racing in their own events based on rank. The first and second varsity eights placed fifth in their heats and thus did not advance further. The third varsity eight placed third in their final, crossing the finish line just under 30 seconds after the first-place boat from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The women had a varsity pair boat, rowed by junior Sarah Burns and sophomore Isabella Barone. The duo placed second in their final, coming in about 30 seconds behind the lead boat from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The men’s club rowing team competed in a multitude of races as well. The freshman/novice four, led by freshman Johnny Gu, placed third in their heat and first in the Petite Final. The club four A boat placed second in their heat, and the club four B boat placed fourth. Both boats progressed to the same final, where the A boat placed second once again and the B boat placed sixth, coming in seven seconds and just under 50 seconds behind the first-place boat from the United States Military Academy at West Point, respectively. The club four A boat received a silver trophy for their performance on the water.
The men’s team had one pair in an event; senior duo Sebastian Gwitt and Adin Deljanin placed third overall, receiving a medal for this event as well.
The men’s team only participated in one other event: the Men’s Club Eight, for the Emory Clark Trophy. Two boats were entered into heats, but only one advanced to the finals. After finishing first in their heat, the men’s first varsity boat fought hard in the finals. The work proved to be worth it as the boat, stroked by captain Gwitt, crossed the finish line at 6:17.58 minutes elapsed, securing their victory.
When asked about the mood on the medal dock after the win, Gwitt noted that it felt great. “Our boat has a lot of seniors mixed with some underclassmen, and it was their first time winning something like this at Fordham. It’s always great to see the young guys get their first, and we remain focused on the next one,” he said. As captain, Gwitt’s expectations were hopeful going into the final. “We always go into races expecting them to be as competitive and close as possible. While we thought we had a good chance to make some noise, we were more focused on having the best race we could as a boat. Performing to our standards always comes first,” he said.
While the women’s team took this past weekend to train, the men traveled down south to Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA). The novice four boat placed fifth in their B final and eleventh overall, while the varsity four boat placed first in their C final and 13th overall. Hot off their win in New Jersey, the men’s varsity eight finished second in their B final and eighth overall.
This coming Sunday, both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Glen Island on the Long Island Sound to compete in the Spring Metropolitan Championships. Lineups have not yet been announced.
