The Drexel women’s crew team sent three boats to the Colonial Athletic Association Championships and finished in fourth place April 24. The team sent its varsity eight, second eight and varsity four and finished with two fourth place finishes and a third place finish, respectively.
The team went into the championships ranked fourth in the CAA, so they finished on par with their rankings from the regular season. For the team, that is acceptable, but the objective is to outperform their expectations.
“We did well, but really the goal is always to finish a little better than you are expected,” head coach Paul Savell said. “But we didn’t and we are happy with the fact that our varsity four boat really did well.”
The varsity eight, who finished eighth in their race, felt they did not have their best race of the year. They are working hard to get back to the place where they want to be in time for the City Championships and the Dad Vail Regatta.
“We improved in some areas this weekend,” Savell said. “We know, however, that we can do better and we need to pick up speed in the coming weekends.
This weekend in the City Championships, the women will be hoping to keep the trophy at Drexel as they have won the last two years.
“We want the three-peat, but it will be tough,” Savell said.
The main competition for the team in the City Championships is St. Joseph’s University and Temple University. Drexel has yet to beat St. Joe’s in any race this year, and it would be a major bonus if they can overcome that obstacle before the Dad Vail.
For the men, Temple is a hurdle for them to pass before the Dad Vail. Temple has one of the top programs in the country and is the favorite this weekend — and is also the top seed for the Dad Vail Championships, the best regatta in the country.
“Temple is the benchmark to see where we are, but we are also aware of LaSalle and St. Joe’s, because they have good boats as well,” Savell said.
The team has been preparing for these last two races all year and knows how important it is to demonstrate their skills in these two races. As they prepare for the City Championships and the Dad Vail Regatta, they are making sure to not wear themselves out, but to prepare the right way.
“We worked hard for the first part of the week, but now it is time to turn up the intensity to make sure we are mentally prepared for the races,” Savell said. “We don’t have to travel for these races, but we need to focus on each race individually and really bring it.”