The Fordham University rowing team travelled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to participate in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta on Oct. 25.

The first event for the team was the women’s coxed college frosh/novice fours. The Fordham boat, coxed by freshman Isabel De La Rosa, and stroked by freshman Dylan Jacob, started down the river promptly at 9:50 a.m. The crew finished their 3,800 meter long race in 15:48.663. The boat placed definitively in seventh place, as the four in front of them, belonging to Fairfield University, came in with a time of 15:27.757. First place came in well before the other teams, with the University of Pennsylvania finishing in 14:06.165 to take the gold.

The second event that Fordham participated in was the women’s coxed championship fours on the same course, in which they had three entries beginning with a staggered start at 10:40 a.m. 

The first entry, coxed by senior Celeste Batres and stroked by junior Bailey Scherdorf, finished in ninth place with a time of 14:36.815. Fordham’s second entry, coxed by junior Bianca Hallinan and stroked by junior Riva Zellars, placed 14th with a time of 15:00.462. 

The third and final entry, coxed by sophomore Ava Ortiz and stroked by sophomore Mariya Sergeeva, finished 20th with a time of 15:12.537. The total number of boats racing was 56, meaning that all three of Fordham’s entries finished in the top half of contestants. The first place boat, also from the University of Pennsylvania, came in at 12:13.739, over ten seconds before second place.

Fordham participated in its third event, the women’s club championship eights, at 1:45 p.m. with another three entries. The first entry, coxed by sophomore Francesca Serpe and stroked by junior Sarah Porter, placed 48th with a time of 15:14.305.

In contrast, the second entry, coxed by Ortiz and stroked by sophomore Catherine Schmitt-Palumbo finished 20th with a time of 14:00.015. The third entry, coxed by sophomore Charlotte Marrone and stroked by senior Sarah Burns, placed in between the two others at 26th with a time of 14:07.917. All of these placements were out of 54 total entries, with first place going to the University of Pennsylvania yet again with a time of 12:40.967.

The fourth and final event that Fordham rowed in was a singular entry into the women’s championship eights. This eight, coxed by sophomore Louisa Sweeney and stroked by Sergeeva placed 17th out of 27 entries with a time of 13:12.947. This was a competitive time as the boat coming in just before them, belonging to Lehigh University, finished with a time of 13:11.201, just over a second faster. The University of Pennsylvania dominated this race as well, finishing first with a time of 12:25.572.

Overall, the Rams provided middle of the pack placement across every entry for each one of their races. Notably, the University of Pennsylvania took first and second place in every event the Rams participated in. 

This weekend, the Rams will head to New Jersey to compete in the Princeton Chase on Lake Carnegie on Oct. 2.