The Fordham women’s rowing team and the men’s club crew team competed in the Novak Memorial Metropolitan Championship hosted on Glen Island by Iona University on April 26.
The women had boats in the novice and varsity four categories, but only the former advanced from their heat to the final. The novice four, led by sophomore Ella Tusa, ended up placing third overall with a time of 09:07.63. The women had two boats in the junior varsity category; the eight, led by freshman Elsa Hinz, also known as Fordham A, placed second with a time of 07:30.75 while the boat stroked by sophomore Lucy Cunningham, or Fordham B, placed third with a time of 07:56.
However, it seemed the week off from racing helped the women’s team significantly, as the real showing came from the women’s varsity eight. Due to a smaller number of total boats, there were no heats for this race; the eight raced for the first time that day in the final. But they pulled it off; the Fordham women’s team placed first in this event, coming in at 07:08.10 for the entire race.
The men’s club team also had boats in both the novice and varsity four categories. The novice four, stroked by sophomore Phillip Kausch, placed third in their heat, and advanced to their final. They ended up placing fifth overall, with a time just shy of eight minutes, clocking in at about 07:59.00. The varsity four, stroked by freshman Johnny Gu, placed first in their heat with a time of 07:47.50 However, the varsity four’s time and place increased in their final, where they placed fourth with a finishing time of 07:55.00. The men had an eight in the junior varsity category, stroked by Gu as well, where they placed fifth in their final with a time of 07:34.
Despite the promise the Fordham men’s club crew team showed two weeks ago at the Knecht Cup where they placed first overall, the boat fell short at the Glen Island event. Stroked by senior captain Sebastian Gwitt, the boat came in second place in their heat with a time of approximately 06:28.00. However, they fell further in their final race, crossing the finish line at 06:30.20, securing third place overall in the race.
