Crew continues strong start on Charles River | The Triangle

Crew continues strong start on Charles River

The men’s first varsity eight boat competes at the Head of the Charles Regatta on the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts Oct. 19. The first varsity eight squad finished twenty-second out of thirty-six teams in their race. (Photo courtesy of DrexelDragons)
The men’s first varsity eight boat competes at the Head of the Charles Regatta on the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts Oct. 19. The first varsity eight squad finished twenty-second out of thirty-six teams in their race. (Photo courtesy of DrexelDragons)

The Dragons hit the road Oct. 18-19 and traveled to Boston for the biggest race of their fall season, the historic Head of the Charles Regatta. The regatta, a tradition on the Charles River, celebrated its 50th race this season.

Despite the lack of any Top 3 finishes, the weekend was still impressive for Drexel.

The men’s second varsity eight boat came in 10th place racing in the Lois Krall boat while racing in the men’s collegiate eight race at the regatta.

The men’s second varsity eight boat has kept Drexel’s impressive rowing streak alive as the other boats fell into later places, finishing 10th of 44 boats with a time of 15:49.40.

Coming in before Drexel in the men’s collegiate eight race were other top tier nation-wide programs such as University of Michigan, Grand Valley State University and The University of Virginia. First place, Michigan, finished with a time of 15:14.73.

The men’s first varsity eight and both of the women’s varsity eight boats also raced with intensity among national competition. However, their racing did not prove as successful as the racing of the men’s second varsity eight.

After taking first place in the men’s collegiate eight race last year, the first varsity eight boat moved up to the men’s championship eight race at this year’s regatta to compete with the best men’s competition on the water, such as Ivy League competition and other highly competitive club programs, such as US Rowing.

Racing in the Sandra Lee Sheller II boat, the men’s first varsity eight took 22nd place out of 36 of the best rowing programs in the nation. While their place may not have seemed particularly impressive, they still boasted a notable time of 15:12.23, which would have been the winning time in the collegiate race.

First place in the men’s championship race went to Craftsbury Sculling Center, with a time of 14:20.23, followed by other nationally ranked programs, such as Harvard University, Princeton University, and the University of Cambridge.

The women’s first varsity eight raced in the women’s championship eight race, and the women’s second varsity eight raced in the women’s club eight race.

In the Marlene Buckley II boat, the women’s first varsity eight took 29th place with a time of 18:06.74. Cambridge came in first at 15:44.79. Local rival University of Pennsylvania, came in 20th place.

The women of the varsity eight dropped five places from last year, when they came in 24th place in the Championship race.

Finally, the women’s second varsity eight took 15th place out of 34 boats in the Women’s Club Eight race, taking a top 20 finish. Racing in the Maria Papadakis boat, the Dragons came in at 17:30.88. In their race, Brown University took the gold medal, crossing the finish at 16:09.90, followed by other notable competition like Duke University and Boston College. However, the women managed to edge local competitor Temple University, who came in 18th place.

The Dragons will prepare to compete on their home course for the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, which will take place this weekend, Oct. 25-26.

Last year, the Dragons took medals in five of the six races they competed in, four of them for first place. They hope to repeat their success.