As they raced their way back to home Philly and the Schuylkill River, the Drexel University Dragons men’s and women’s crew teams have each rowed their way to success again Oct. 11-12 at the historic Navy Day Regatta.
Both the women’s first and second varsity boats took finishes in the top three spots in their respective races. The women’s second varsity eight boat “A” took second place out of 14, finishing behind the United States Naval Academy, and the second varsity eight boat, “B,” took 12th. The women’s varsity eight took third, finishing behind Navy and University City rival University of Pennsylvania.
The men also raced well, with the first varsity eight boat coming in a close fourth place out of 27 boats, behind top-tier competition Penn, Navy and Syracuse University. Drexel came in less than three seconds behind Syracuse, giving them fourth place instead of a top three finish.
In addition to the varsity boats, two men’s freshman boats raced, placing fourth and fifth in their race behind two Penn boats and one from Navy. Additionally, the women’s freshmen eight boat finished seventh place in their race, behind local schools like Penn and Saint Joseph’s University, and farther competition like Army and Navy.
“Men’s [first] varsity eight finished in fourth place which is where we thought we were at this part of our season. There is a lot of room for improvement and we are looking to be faster every time we get on the water,” said Ivo Krakic, a sophomore who rowed in the seventh seat of the men’s varsity eight boat this weekend, and raced with the Dragon’s nationally ranked team last season.
“Competition this weekend was great. We had three teams which are in [the] top 20 in the country come out and race us. It is great to see how we stack up to them this early in the season.”
The Navy Day Regatta served as a big gauge race for where the boats will fall this year, and additionally helped prepare the Dragons for their biggest fall race, the Head of the Charles Regatta, for which the team will be traveling to Boston Oct. 18-19.
“This race was a great indication of what we have to work on for future races. Our preparation [for the season] so far is going as planned. Every guy in the team is improving and getting faster individually which then transfers to the boats resulting in some pretty fast times on the water,” Krakic commented.
“Last year we had a crew that won a collegiate category at Head of the Charles, and this year we are sending two top men’s boats,” Krakic continued. “Varsity eight will race in championship category, and second varsity will race in [the] collegiate category looking to defend the gold.”
With their current success, the Head of the Charles will be a very exciting race for all of the Dragons in the boats racing.
The Dragons will hit the water this Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston on the Charles River.