For the first time in the 75-year history of the decorated Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, the host program took home the title. The Drexel Dragons, defending their home Schuylkill River, captured their first overall team title in the long history of the prestigious regatta.

The grand event, held May 10-11, pitted Drexel against some of the nation’s best crew teams. The Dragons, led by Director of Rowing Paul Savell, sent 12 boats to the semifinals, a new record for the program, and sent six out of nine shells to the grand finals.

Drexel’s chances coming into the regatta were heightened because of the team’s previous victories April 27 in the Bergen and Kelly Cup regattas.

“We set goals, train hard and prepare to win,” Savell said. “I felt confident that our team had a shot, and [I am] proud of our work ethic and dedication this season.”

The Dragons were able to secure the title with 30 overall points. The University of Michigan and the University of Virginia finished second and third with 26 and 21 points, respectively.

The men’s varsity eight keyed the victory with a gold-medal finish in the Lois Krall Boat. They finished with a time of 5:42.605, earning the program’s first-ever men’s varsity eight Dad Vail gold. That shell was coxed by Marc Smith, along with strokes Kurt Linton, Vanja Busic, Aleksandar Radovic, Lorenzo Albala, Sebastian Ryan, John Pieper, Michael Faust and bow Casimir Czworkowski to earn the Richard O’Brien Trophy.

“Winning the men’s varsity eight title means we had the fastest boat on the river, period,” Savell pointed out.

Drexel was considered a big underdog to the perennial powerhouse Florida Institute of Technology for the heat, but the Lois Krall Boat jumped out to a big lead and was able to hold off the field.

Another major group of contributors to Drexel’s first-place finish was the novice eight. They won their first gold medal since 1997, winning as a No. 1 seed in the Vince Vidas Boat. Their effort included contributions from Christopher Henderson, strokes Daniel Dollin, Mikulas Sum, Nicholas Capaldi, Michael DiLucca, Dave Hanrahan, Daniel Palombo, Daniel Pyleand bow Lawrence Lindawan. With the victory, they earned the Lev Brett Bowl, capping off an undefeated spring season.

Finally, it was Drexel’s men’s pair that secured the men’s points trophy for the overall regatta. Although the Dragons had already secured the overall team title, the pair of stroke Timothy Drake and bow Cameron Staines clinched the men’s title.

Their time of 7:03.697 in the Julia Grace Boat was good enough for the Bob Negaard Cup. Savell was impressed with the come-from-behind fashion in which the pair won.

On the women’s side, Drexel’s second varsity eight defended their first-place title from last year. In the Maria Papadakis Boat, Catherine Hamilton coxed along with strokes Elizabeth Campanella, Emily Gartland, Olivia Babiec, Sierra Baca, Amanda Kleuser, Elizabeth Daugherty, Tori King and bow Elise Levito. They finished in 6:50.013, good enough to be awarded the Coleman D. Boylan trophy. Savell described this victorious heat with one word: “Awesome.”

Not far from awesome were the performances of a few other Drexel boats. Among them were the men’s second varsity eight, who finished in 5:59.140, two seconds behind Michigan, to settle for a silver medal. The women’s varsity four won a bronze medal in their heat, medaling for the first time in that particular event in the program’s history, which impressed Savell very much.

“The women’s varsity four winning a bronze was also great,” Savell said. “It is a very tough category, and this is the first year we have had the depth to medal in the eights and the fours.”

In Savell’s opinion, the weekend cemented Drexel on the nation’s crew map. In addition to Drexel’s performance in the river, Alexandra Paulin, a former Dragons coxswain on the women’s varsity team, covered the regatta for 6ABC. The presence and success provided by the Dragons, most importantly their overall victory on the nation’s largest stage, confirmed Drexel’s place among the elites.

“Dad Vails is the largest collegiate regatta in the country,” Savell said. “It has really put Drexel [crew] on the national rowing map.”

The coach was glad to see his players gain recognition for their work all year. He was thrilled to see the hard work by his team realize a goal.

“It was such a great feeling to be able to see our athletes achieve their goals, especially knowing how hard everyone worked for it,” Savell said.

Drexel is under consideration for being named Rowing Team of the Week, which will be determined in an online poll at www.row2k.com. Savell is calling for support and for fans of the team to vote for his squad.

Savell was already very appreciative of the support his team received thus far. All along the river were Dragon fans dressed in their school colors, supporting their alma mater, classmates and favorite Philadelphia program.

“There were so many Blue and Gold fans out there cheering us on, and [we] appreciated all of the support,” he said.

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The Drexel men’s crew team won the Bergen Cup title for the third consecutive year. The Dragons outlasted five other Philadelphia schools April 27 on the Schuylkill River.

The Drexel crew teams had another successful weekend on the Schuylkill River, as the men’s and women’s teams won the Bergen Cup and Kelly Cup, respectively, April 27.

It marked the second straight season that the Dragons won both regattas, which pit Philadelphia programs against each other. Joining Drexel on the river were La Salle University, Villanova University, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia University and Temple University.

The men’s varsity eight, second varsity eight, freshman eight and varsity four boats all finished in first place. The varsity eight’s impressive time of 5:51.3, more than 13 seconds better than runner-up Temple, easily won the Bergen Cup gold.

The freshman four, lightweight four and pair all took second place. The lightweight four came just a second away from capturing the men’s fifth first-place finish.

Head coach Paul Savell was very pleased with the men’s team’s performance as a whole and was especially thrilled to see them become city champions once again. It marked a three-peat, as the Dragons have now won the Bergen Cup each year since 2011.

He would have even more reason to be happy after the women won four more races themselves. The headlining race was the varsity eight defending their Kelly Cup title, finishing five seconds ahead of Temple with a time of 6:36.6. It is the fourth time in five seasons that the Drexel women have won the all-Philadelphia regatta.

Also victorious on the women’s side were the second varsity eight, varsity four and pair.

Before the race, Savell identified it as a big one for the women. Assistant coach Denise Julian echoed those expectations and was pleased with the team meeting them. According to her, the Dragons executed the game plan perfectly.

“The women eight focused over the past two weeks on retaining the Kelly Cup and executing a specific race plan,” Julian said. ”We are very pleased with how the whole women’s team performed this weekend.”

All Drexel boats finished in either first or second place in their respective events, and eight of the 12 boats won first place.

Although the team has been very successful recently with this particular regatta, Savell said the pride level remains the same. He also pointed out that each year the team is different in some way, and because of that, there is always a new sense of thrill and joy in winning.

“Each year is unique because we have new leadership and new competition as every team [graduates] their seniors,” Savell said. “So each year we have the same focus: to win back the cups and take pride in our accomplishments.”

He did point out that the continued success is a reflection of the improved program. Not only is it growing, but the members of the two teams have also consistently been able to translate their training into success and victories.

“The depth of the whole rowing program is growing each year,” Savell said. “With both teams winning as well as all boats getting either first or second, we can see how our training is translating into boat speed.”

The weekend also showed Savell that his team is steadily getting set for the legendary Dad Vail Regatta, which will take place May 10-11. The 75th annual event will be the third straight regatta the Dragons will host on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River.

“This past weekend has helped show how our work has paid off and given confidence going into Dad Vails,” Savell said.

In the past three years, Drexel has sent five boats to the grand finals of the prestigious regatta. However, the team has ultimately come up short against some of the best competition it faces all year. The University of Michigan has won the past two years, which is something Savell and the Dragons will look to change. He likes the way the teams are arching upward and thinks the teams have built a great deal of momentum leading up to the regatta.

“Both the men’s and women’s teams have built speed nicely over the past two months and have been preparing to have top speed by Dad Vails,” he said.

For more information about the Dad Vail Regatta, visit dadvail.org.

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It was a big weekend on the Schuylkill River, as the Drexel crew teams defended their local river well. The Dragons captured seven gold medals April 20 at the Kerr Cup Regatta.

The men’s varsity eight headlined the long list of Drexel winners. It marked the third consecutive year that the varsity eight won the gold medal, as their time of 5:42.6 put them on top for the Kerr Cup.

The women’s second varsity eight boat featuring coxswain Catherine Hamilton, stroke Elizabeth Campanella, Emily Gartland, Olivia Babiec, Sierra Baca, Amanda Kleuser, Elizabeth Daugherty, Tori King and bow Elise Levito won a gold medal at the Kerr Cup Regatta.

“I just thought it was good we separated ourselves as much as we did,” captain Kurt Linton said.

Another contender from the men’s side was the second varsity eight boat, which finished on top with a time of 5:58.6. Additionally, the freshman eight finished first with a time of 5:38.6, and the men’s lightweight four recorded a winning time of 6:50.1.

With a time of 6:31.6, the women’s varsity eight came less than three seconds away from topping first-place Washington College and joining their male counterparts as cup-winning Dragons. Their second-place finish would be supported, however, with three gold medals from three other women’s boats.

In the women’s second varsity eight race, Drexel won rather easily with a time of 6:46.2. The freshman eight’s boat captured first place by the narrowest of margins, holding off La Salle University by just fractions of a second, clocking in at 6:11.8. The varsity four’s finish at 7:14.3 allowed them to grab the seventh and final medal of the day for Drexel.

Overall it was a very successful day for the Dragons, and head coach Paul Savell was especially pleased to win his third Kerr Cup.

“We were real pleased with the race,” Savell said. “The cup has been growing each year, and I feel like the team is on track. The bottom line is we were pleased with our progress.”

He was also glad to preserve and honor Drexel’s history and the traditional regatta. The Kerr Cup is named after the founder of Drexel’s crew program, Thomas Kerr Jr.

“It’s big in the way that the history of our team is on the line,” Savell said.

Kerr established the program in 1957 and served as the team’s first head coach. His family, including his grandchildren, was on hand for the regatta. Naturally, there is extra pride obtained when winning as the host of an event named in honor of the program’s founder.

“It’s nice to win when you’re the host,” Savell said.

The Kerr Cup was one of three regattas in Drexel’s current homestand for both the men and women. The two teams now turn their attention to a pair of big races April 27. The men are set to compete in the Bergen Cup regatta, which pits the Philadelphia schools against one another. Savell looks to ride the momentum from the big win on Saturday, saying that the Dragons are in a “good position,” as that they have already competed against some of the schools, including a few last weekend.

“The guys are going into this race in a good situation,” Savell said. “We’ve seen all the other Philly schools, and we’ve beaten them this year.”

They will enter the regatta with confidence but are aware that nothing is certain.

“That’s no guarantee of what happens, but we do have confidence from that,” Savell reiterated.

It may be an even bigger regatta for the women, who get set to compete on the Schuylkill, just as the men are, but in the Kelly Cup, where they will look to defend their title as reigning champions.

“This is a very big race for the women’s varsity eight, so we’re really looking for them to step it up and have a big race here,” Savell said.

The home-river advantage should benefit Drexel, according to Savell. “It’s nice knowing the specific landmarks, as well as when and where to maneuver. However, it also is beneficial because there are [fewer] things to worry about,” he said. “It’s a nice home-field advantage to go to your own boathouse, carry your boat and put it on the water. It’s easier than having to worry about catching the bus and logistics like that.”

Including last weekend, this upcoming weekend and the legendary Dad Vail Regatta May 11-12, this is a big homestand for the Dragons. Savell is using it to get the teams clicking and have them rested. Last weekend set the tone and set them on their course.

“These three races are going to be home races, getting guys rested and back on the home course,” he said. “So it was the first of the three that we wanted to start into our temper phase.”

It is progressively preparing both his teams to win the Dad Vail, the current goal for the crew teams, and last weekend was a good start.

“I thought that was a good sign coming into this weekend and heading toward Dad [Vail] next week,” he concluded.

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After rowing in the Knecht Cup April 13-14 in Cherry Hill, N.J., the Drexel men’s and women’s crew teams will host three consecutive competitions on the Schuylkill River.

The Drexel University men’s and women’s crew teams both had strong performances at the 2013 Knecht Cup April 13 and 14 in Cherry Hill, N.J. A total of 11 boats reached the final day of competition for the Dragons. The men performed at a high level as the varsity eight, second varsity eight and novice eight each took gold in the grand finals. The women were also impressive in their competition, as their varsity eight earned a second-place finish in the third final and the second varsity eight took home bronze in the grand final.

The men’s varsity eight took home the gold in the grand final with a 5:56.77 finish. The first-place Lois Krall shell featured coxswain Mark Smith along with stroke Kurt Linton, Vanja Busic, Aleksandar Radovic, Lorenzo Albala, Sebastian Ryan, John Pieper, Michael Faust and bow Casimir Czworkowski. The Dragons outlasted Hobart University and the University of Delaware, who finished second and third, respectively.

The men’s second varsity eight followed with a first-place performance of their own with a time of 6:07.10. Victoria Kenion coxswained the winning Joseph Greipp boat, which also featured stroke Marko Durica, Milos Rujevic, James Byrne, Ryan Mallgrave, Ian Luetzow, Christian Ladd, Grigorios Papadourakis and bow Brian McCabe. Temple University came in right behind Drexel, while Trinity University took third place.

The men’s novice eight continued the Dragons’ success by earning a first-place finish in their grand final, stopping the clock at 5:59.48. Coxswain Christopher Henderson, stroke Daniel Dollin, Mikulas Sum, Nicholas Capaldi, Michael DiLucca, Dave Hanrahan, Daniel Palombo, Daniel Pyle and bow Lawrence Lindawan took the Vince Vidas boat to victory.

Medals continued to come for the Dragons as the varsity four “A” shell took bronze in the grand final, finishing with a time of 6:51.53. George Mason University took first place at 6:46.16, while Rollins University came in second with a time of 6:50.52. The LeBow College of Business boat was coxswained by Diana Fox and also featured stroke Mahmoud Shurbaji, Jake Murphy, Ryan McSpedon and bow Matt Gehret.

The varsity pair took home bronze for the Dragons in the final, posting a time of 7:24.85. Villanova University took home first place with a time of 7:14.94, and Philadelphia University finished second at 7:23.49. Timothy Drake and bow Cameron Staines were featured in the Julia Grace boat. Head coach Paul Savell was pleased with the men’s team but still wants his rowers focused on preparation for future competition.

“We are happy with what has been accomplished so far this season, but not complacent,” he said about their performance so far. “Having the men sweep the eights was a great accomplishment. We enjoyed it for a day and then got back to work and focused on Dad Vails.”

On the women’s side, the second varsity eight earned a bronze medal in the grand final, finishing at 6:51.65. First place went to Northeastern University at 6:47.20, while The University of Kansas earned second with a time of 6:48.02. Catherine Hamilton coxswained the Maria Papadakis shell, which also included stroke Elizabeth Campanella, Emily Gartland, Olivia Babiec, Sierra Baca, Kayla Wroblesky, Alyssa Leahy, Tori King and bow Elise Levito.

In the third final, the varsity eight came in second place right behind Old Dominion University at 6:57.83, while the Monarchs won with a time of 6:52.18. Coxswain Kerry Walsh, stroke Julia Jackson, Elizabeth Daugherty, Jayme Batcher, Mollie Cusack, Amanda O’Malley, Bridget Pfeifer, Amanda Kleuser and bow Colleen Delaney were featured in the Marlene Buckley II boat for the Dragons.

The novice eight just missed a medal, finishing fourth in the grand final with a time of 7:07.78. The fastest time was posted by the University of Wisconsin at 6:58.10. Boston College, at 7:00.97, took silver, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill rounding out the top three. The Marlene Buckley shell was coxswained by Rachel Bowen and included stroke Rose Ehrlich, Julie McGlynn, Caitlin Bubel, Rebecca McCool, Jordan Marinchak, Elisabeth Wagner, Taylor Brady and bow Kate Wilchek.

Savell was pleased with the way the women applied their training and earned some hard-fought success. “We have really been focusing on our top eight this week, and they are hitting a good stride,” he said.

The varsity four rounded out the competition for the Dragons, placing first in the petite final with a time of 7:59.21.

Drexel Crew will return home April 20 for the Kerr Cup Regatta, when the boats will take to the Schuylkill River for the first time since April 6.

“We are very excited to be back on our home course hosting the Kerr Cup, which is named after Drexel’s first rowing coach,” Savell said. “We are expecting to perform well as we prepare for Dad Vails.”

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Drexel crew hosted Bucknell University and Mercyhurst University on the Schuylkill River April 6 and won five of the six events on the day. The women’s team claimed both of the top two spots in the second varsity eight event over the Bison and the Lakers.

Both the Drexel University men’s and women’s crew teams had strong showings in their last three competitions. Drexel advanced six boats to the finals March 30 at the 2013 Murphy Cup Regatta in Cherry Hill, N.J. The teams had a week between competitions before they took to the Schuylkill River April 6 for races against Bucknell University and Mercyhurst University. The Dragons took a combined five of six events on the day. They took the water only a day later when they traveled to Fairfax, Va., for the 2013 Occoquan Sprints, in which they advanced all six boats to the grand finals and finished in the top three in five of six events.

The men’s varsity eight boat began the day for the Dragons at the Murphy Cup Regatta and put in a strong performance on the Cooper River. The men’s top boat earned a silver medal in the finals, finishing with a time of 5:56.06, while the University of Virginia took first place with a time of 5:49.75. Coxswain Marc Smith, stroke Sebastian Ryan, Lorenzo Albala, Aleksandar Radovic, John Pieper, Kurt Linton, Ryan Mallgrave, Michael Faust and bow Casimir Czworkowski rowed the Annette Pennoni boat.

The men’s day on the water was highlighted by the performance of their novice eight, who earned the gold medal with a top time of 5:57:44. Coxswain Christopher Henderson, stroke Daniel Dollin, Mikulas Sum, Nicholas Capaldi, Michael DiLucca, Dave Hanrahan, Daniel Palombo, Daniel Pyle and bow Lawrence Lindawan rowed the Peggy Greenawalt boat to victory. The win featured the Dragons outlasting Virginia, the United States Military Academy, the University of Delaware and Williams University.

On the women’s side, the varsity eight boat earned the best result of the day, finishing with a time of 6:55.22 and earning a win in the petite finals. Coxswain Kerry Walsh, stroke Elizabeth Campanella, Alexa Antonioli, Amanda O’Malley, Colleen Delaney, Julia Jackson, Mollie Cusack, Olivia Babiec and bow Bridget Pfeifer made up the Marlene Buckley boat.

The women’s second varsity eight gave the Dragons another good showing, finishing third in the finals with a time of 7:03.65. The United States Naval Academy took home the victory, stopping the clock at 6:58.20, while the University at Buffalo finished in second place with a time of 7:03.92. Coxswain Sarah Messenger, stroke Amanda Kleuser, Elizabeth Daugherty, Jayme Batcher, Emily Gartland, Kayla Wroblesky, Alyssa Leahy, Tori King and bow Elise Levito proved to be the best boat in the event.

The Dragons had a week to prepare for their home races April 6 on the Schuylkill River against Bucknell and Mercyhurst. They showed they were well prepared to face their opponents, as they took five of the six events.

The men’s freshman eight took first place in their event, stopping the clock at 6:06.9. They were followed by Bucknell at 6:19.3 and Mercyhurst finishing in third with a time of 6:53.3.

Drexel then followed by taking the top two finishes in the second varsity eight event, stopping the clock at 6:05.9. The Dragons’ third varsity eight followed at 6:11.0. The winning Joseph Greipp boat was coxswained by Victoria Kenion with stroke Marko Durica, Milos Rujevic, James Byrne, Paul Wisniowski, Ian Luetzow, Christian Ladd, Grigorios Papadourakis and bow Brian McCabe. The Vince Vidas boat, which came in second, was guided by coxswain Diana Fox and also featured stroke Mahmoud Shurbaji, Dean Hill, Ryan McSpedon, Matt Gehret, Timothy Drake, Cameron Staines, Adam Cordi and bow Jake Murphy.

The fastest time of the day was posted by the men’s varsity eight at 5:53.6. Mercyhurst earned second place at 6:09.9. Coxswain Marc Smith, stroke Sebastian Ryan, Vanja Busic, Aleksandar Radovic, Lorenzo Albala, Kurt Linton, Ryan Mallgrave, Michael Faust and bow Casimir Czworkowski were featured in the winning Lois Krall boat for the Dragons.

The women also had their fair share of success in their events. The women’s varsity eight rowed their way to a second-place finish, crossing the finish line at 6:51.38. Bucknell finished just ahead of the Dragons, stopping the clock at 6:44.74. Kerry Walsh guided the Marlene Buckley II boat, which also featured stroke Elizabeth Campanella, Colleen Delaney, Kayla Wroblesky, Sierra Baca, Julia Jackson, Mollie Cusack, Olivia Babiec and bow Bridget Pfeifer.

The women’s second varsity event was dominated by the Dragons, as they took the top two finishes. The second varsity eight finished first with a time of 6:47.5 and were followed by the freshman eight, who stopped the clock at 6:59.0. The winning Maria Papadakis boat was coxed by Catherine Hamilton and also featured stroke Amanda Kleuser, Emily Gartland, Jayme Batcher, Elizabeth Daugherty, Tori King, Alyssa Leahy, Amanda Dargay and bow Elise Levito. Coxswain Rachel Bowen, stroke Rose Ehrlich, Julie McGlynn, Caitlin Bubel, Rebecca McCool, Jordan Marinchak, Elisabeth Wagner, Taylor Brady and bow Kate Wilchek made up the second-place Marlene Buckley boat.

The women finished the day by taking their last event. The varsity four “A” boat came through the finish line at a time of 7:51.1. The victorious Sandra Lee Sheller boat was guided by coxswain Sarah Messenger and also included stroke Amanda O’Malley, Elise Panacek, Kathie Cheng and bow Barbara McKenna. The varsity four “B” boat finished fourth for the Dragons at 8:16.4. Coxswain Ariana Kaufmann, stroke Alicia Hoy, Brogan Piecara, Olivia Carignan and bow Ashley Lidwell rowed the Dawn Byers boat.

The teams had a quick turnaround as they headed to Fairfax, Va., for the 2013 Occoquan Sprints April 7. The Dragons showed their talent as they advanced all six boats to the grand finals.

In the second heat, the men’s novice eight finished with the fastest time at 5:32.00. The men’s varsity eight clinched a spot in the grand final after finishing first in their opening heat with a time of 5:27.50. The Dragons finished second in the final right behind the University of Michigan in a close finish that saw Drexel stop the clock at 5:18.24 and the Wolverines at 5:15.80.

For the women, the freshman eight shell rowed its way to the grand final with the second-fastest time at 6:35.20 in the third heat. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill edged out Drexel for first with a time of 6:29.68. The Dragons outlasted Navy and Bucknell in the final but couldn’t find their way past Grand Valley State University or North Carolina, as they finished in third place.

In the second heat, the women’s second varsity eight earned the fastest time at 6:08.0 to put themselves into the grand final. The Dragons took second place in the final with a time of 5:51.17, as Navy earned first place with a time of 5:48.80.

The women’s varsity eight put in a time of 6:15.03 to earn the second-best time in the second heat to reach the grand final. Grand Valley State University crossed the finish line first at 6:14.00. The Dragons rowed their way to third place in the final as the Marlene Buckley II shell clocked in at 6:02.01. Navy, Bucknell and Temple University finished ahead of the Dragons in the top three spots.

Drexel Crew will have a short break before returning to the water Saturday, April 13, when they will travel to Cherry Hill, N.J., for the Knecht Cup Regatta on the Cooper River. The events will span two days and end on Sunday.

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Credit: Ken Chaney | The Drexel crew team finished its fall season in the Frostbite Regatta on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., Nov. 10. The Dragons head into their four-month winter break on a high note as all three women’s varsity eight boats won their races.

The Drexel University men’s and women’s crew teams capped off their fall seasons on a high note Nov. 10 at the Frostbite Regatta on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. With 11 boats competing in the day’s events, the Dragons fared exceptionally well, walking away with gold in six of the events. The regatta featured a 2,000-meter sprint-style course, a distinct change from the longer-distance races Drexel has competed in thus far this season. Leading up to the race, head coach Paul Savell adjusted his team’s focus in order to prepare them for the new distance. The Drexel boats took to the water in consecutive races, with all of them competing within a span of two hours. The novice races started the day, with the junior varsity events second and the varsity races headlining at the end of the day.

Evidently, Savell was successful in accommodating his team to the new length, as they put together one good race after another. Three of the Drexel women’s varsity eight boats were particularly dominant, sweeping all three of their races. The women’s first varsity eight was most impressive, running away from the field in Final 1 with a time of 7:04. West Virginia University and George Mason University finished second and third with 7:12 and 7:17, respectively. Coxswain Sarah Messenger, stroke Olivia Babiec, Elizabeth Campanella, Julia Jackson, Samantha Cowan, Kayla Wroblesky, Mollie Cusack, Amanda O’Malley and bow Colleen Delaney rowed the Marlene Buckley II boat to victory.

The women’s second varsity eight was equally dominant in Final 2, cruising to victory in 7:17, which was 17 seconds ahead of second-place La Salle University at 7:34. The first-place Maria Papadakis boat featured coxswain Kerry Walsh, Tori King, Alexa Antonioli, Amanda Dargay, Sierra Baca, Amanda Kleuser, Alyssa Leahy, Jayme Batcher and bow Elizabeth Daugherty.

The last of the three women’s varsity included two Drexel boats, which finished in first and fifth places, respectively. The winning third varsity eight team in the Marlene Buckley boat sealed the Drexel sweep in the event by finishing in 7:30, ahead of Loyola University Maryland, La Salle and The College of New Jersey in second, third and fourth, respectively. Catherine Hamilton coxed the Dragons to the win along with her teammates: stroke Meredith Bracken, Bridget Pfeifer, Emily Gartland, Mallory Sykes, Kathy Cheng, Elise Panacek, Barbara McKenna and bow Elise Levito.

The other Drexel squad in Final 3 was the fourth women’s varsity eight in the John Daskalakis boat, which finished ahead of Scranton University for fifth place in a time of 8:24. Coxswain Ariana Kaufmann, stroke Katie Farnsworth, Elisabeth Wagner, Emily Barth, Patience Dodgson, Olivia Carigan, Ashley Liddell, Alicia Hoy and bow Rio Monte comprised the fifth-place boat.

Savell was extremely satisfied with his women’s varsity eight crews and their dominance in their events, saying, “This was really an impressive feat. The women have worked hard and made constant improvements all season. It was great to see this kind of determination pay off.”

On the men’s side, Drexel’s first varsity eight crew put together a fast race in Final 1, finishing in 6:10, which was good for first place ahead of crosstown foe Temple University at 6:17. The Dragons also defeated Washington College, Ithaca College, the University of Delaware and Bucknell University in the event. The victorious Lois Krall boat consisted of coxswain Diana Fox, stroke Aleksandar Radovic, Vanja Busic, Michael Faust, Ryan Mallgrave, John Pieper, Lorenzo Albala, Kurt Linton and bow Brian McCabe.

In Final 2 of the same event, the Drexel men’s second varsity eight crossed the line in fifth place in 7:10 and ahead of Scranton at 7:22. The Vince Vidas boat was paced by coxswain Jacquelyn Durkin, stroke Oleg Gratwick, Paul Wisniowski, Geoff Wittenberg, Jacob Smith, David Leach, Brian Kissam, Mike Aleixo and bow Andrew Weinstein.

About an hour before the last men’s varsity race began, the junior varsity races took place. Drexel entered two boats in each of the two races in the men’s JV event. In Final 1, Drexel’s first junior varsity team battled Delaware in a very tight race, but Delaware pulled out a narrow two-second victory in 6:14 against the Dragons’ 6:16. Drexel’s runner-up team in the Joseph Greipp boat included coxswain Marc Smith, stroke Dean Hill, Milos Rujevic, Marko Durico, Casimir Czworkowski, James Byrne, Jake Murphy, Mahmoud Shurbaji and bow Hartman Byers.

Final 2 of the men’s JV race featured the men’s second JV squad in the Antoinette Pennoni shell. The Dragons claimed first place in the race in 6:25, defeating Bucknell, La Salle, Washington College, the University of Maryland, and Ithaca. The winning Drexel boat was controlled by coxswain Victoria Kenion and powered by stroke Timothy Drake, Christian Ladd, David Gockley, Cameron Staines, Ryan McSpedon, Troy Beck, Matt Gehret and Adam Cordi.

The earliest events to begin on the day were the novice races, in which Drexel had two men’s boats and one women’s boat participating. The Drexel women’s novice eight obliterated their competition, winning in 7:34, which was 36 seconds faster than second-place George Mason at 8:10. The first-place women also defeated Lehigh University, Philadelphia University, Binghamton University and Lafayette University. The dominant Drexel crew in the Marlene Buckley boat included coxswain Rachel Bowan, stroke Rose Ehrlich, Julie McGlynn, Taylor Brady, Rebecca McCool, Megan Raver, Caitlin Bubel, Jordan Marinchak and bow Kate Wilchek.

In Final 1 of the men’s novice races, Drexel’s first novice eight team in the Vince Vidas boat finished second in 6:24, nine seconds behind Delaware at 6:15. The Drexel boat featured coxswain Christopher Henderson, stroke Mikulas Sum, Michael DiLucca, Daniel Palombo, Daniel Dollin, Nicholas Capaldi, Dave Hanrahan, Lawrence Lindawan and bow Daniel Pyle.

Drexel’s men’s second novice eight squad crossed the line in third place ahead of Ithaca in Final 2. The Peggy Greenawalt boat showcased coxswain Thomas Nguyen, stroke Paul Bellefleur, Jacob Bond, Bryce Pennie, Dan Carr, Todd Keiser, Alex Knipe, Eric Troilo and bow Leif Malm.

With the fall season now in the books, Drexel’s men’s and women’s crew teams will now look forward to a winter of conditioning and preparation for the spring season. While the Dragons had a great fall season, they are not satisfied with where they are right now. Savell knows the team will look to continue its winning ways as they make the transition to the indoor part of the season.

“Winning always helps keep the momentum going. The team seems excited to go indoors and make some gains on the erg and in the weight room,” Savell said. “We know if we want to stay ahead of the competition, we need to make bigger strides in the offseason than our competition. “

The crew teams hope to improve over the next few months in order to start the spring season strong at the Murphy Cup Regatta March 30 on the Cooper River.

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Credit: Ken Chaney | The Drexel crew team entered 12 boats to compete at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta Oct. 27. Seven of the Dragons’ boats finished in the top five of their events, including wins by the second varsity A boat in the men’s open club eights and the varsity eight boat in the men’s open heavy championship eight final.

One week after strong performances at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the Drexel University men’s and women’s crew teams returned to action Oct. 27 at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.

While Drexel sent just two boats to Boston a week earlier, one men’s eight and one women’s eight, the Dragons entered 12 boats to compete against tough competition at the Head of the Schuylkill. The vast majority of Drexel boats competed at the top of their respective events on the day, which is evidence of the incredible depth of the program.

After the day’s races concluded, Drexel emerged with its third straight Head of the Schuylkill overall team title. Following the competition, head coach Paul Savell was very happy about his team’s performance, from the varsity boats all the way down to the novice boat.

“We are extremely proud of our third consecutive points title at the Head of the Schuylkill because of what it means for the depth of the team and the overall program,” Savell said. “The competition within the team is stronger than it has ever been. This team title speaks to the kind of depth and caliber we are racing at right now.”

The first race of the day for Drexel was the men’s open four, in which Drexel placed 24th out of 42 teams, defeating Rutgers University, La Salle University and Duke University, among others. Jacquelyn Durkin coxed the LeBow College of Business boat of David Gockley, Milos Rujevic, Andrew Weinstein and bow Brian Kissam to the finish in 15:31.49.

Next on the water for the Drexel men were the two men’s collegiate novice eight boats. Finishing first of the two was the novice A crew in the Vince Vidas boat, consisting of coxswain Thomas Nguyen, stroke Mikulas Sum, Michael DiLucca, Daniel Palombo, Daniel Dollin, Paul Bellefleur, Nicholas Capaldi, Lawrence Lindawan and bow Daniel Pyle. The men’s novice eight A put together a good race, placing fourth of 29 boats in 13:10.53.

The men’s novice eight B squad was in the same race, finishing 16th of 29 in 14:52.69. The Peggy Greenawalt boat was steered by coxswain Christopher Henderson and powered by stroke Bryce Pennie, Jacob Bond, Todd Keiser, Dave Hanrahan, Geoff Wittenberg, Dan Carr, Michael Aleixo and bow Leif Malm. Princeton took the first two places in the event in fast times of 12:27.27 and 12:49.18.

Soon after the men’s novice race ended, the men’s open club eights were underway. Drexel had a great showing in this event, placing both of its second varsity eights in the top three. The men’s second varsity A team in the Joseph Greipp boat crossed the line with the event’s fastest time in 12:50.45. The winning boat included coxswain Marc Smith, stroke Kurt Linton, Cameron Staines, Aleksandar Radovic, Ryan Mallgrave, James Byrne, Jake Murphy, John Pieper and bow Christian Ladd.

The second varsity B boat finished third with a time of 13:13.86, behind only Drexel’s second varsity A and the Potomac Boat Club, which finished second in 13:08.53. The third-place Antoinette Pennoni boat contained coxswain Victoria Kenion, stroke Timothy Drake, Adam Cordi, Ryan McSpedon, Casimir Czworkowski, Marko Durica, Hartman Byers, Mahmoud Shurbaji and bow Matt Gehret.

The final and most anticipated Drexel men’s race of the day was the men’s open heavy championship eight final. The Dragons’ varsity eight obliterated the field in this race, taking first place in 12:27.34, which was far ahead of second-place Potomac in 12:54.32 and third-place Saint Joseph’s University in 13:02.72. The first-place Lois Krall boat featured coxswain Diana Fox, stroke Dean Hill, Paul Wisniowski, Sebastian Ryan, Vanja Busic, Michael Faust, Lorenzo Albala, Grigorios Papadourakis and bow Brian McCabe. Savell was proud of all of his athletes and their ability to execute the strategy they have established throughout the season.

“There were a lot of highlights that day. … Each week our goal was to pick up more speed than our competition,” Savell said. “We want to get better and have a bigger incremental speed increase than any other team. That kind of thinking helps create momentum.”

While the Drexel men had a great day of racing, they were not alone; the Drexel women also had a slew of standout performances. Opening the day of racing for the women were the two women’s novice eights. The novice eight A boat led the way for Drexel in the 27-team event with a third-place finish and time of 15:08.75. The Dragons finished behind only Old Dominion University and the United States Naval Academy in 14:52.39 and 15:05.37, respectively. Coxswain Rachel Bowen, stroke Rose Ehrlich, Julie McGlynn, Taylor Brady, Rebecca McCool, Megan Raver, Kimberly Whitbeck, Jordan Marinchak and bow Kate Wilchek propelled the third-place Marlene Buckley boat along the course.

In the same race, the women’s novice eight B squad finished 12th, recording a time of 16:41.96. Coxswain Ariana Kaufmann, Caitlin Bubel, Carli Moorehead, Olivia Carigan, Elisabeth Wagner, Ashley Liddell, Patience Dodgson, Skye Miller and bow Rio Monte paced the John Daskalakis boat to the 12th-place finish.

Similar to the men, the Drexel women entered two second varsity boats in the women’s open club eights final, and both boats finished in the top five. The second varsity A team in the Marlene Buckley boat stopped the clock with the event’s third-best time of 14:34.39, trailing only Trinity College and Navy at 14:22.52 and 14:31.10, respectively. The third-place Drexel boat consisted of coxswain Sarah Messenger, stroke Tori King, Mallory Sykes, Kayla Wroblesky, Emily Gartland, Amanda Kleuser, Bridget Pfeifer, Amanda Dargay and bow Alexa Antonioli.

The Drexel women’s second varsity B boat checked in two places behind the Marlene Buckley boat, notching a time of 14:58.07 for fifth place. Coxswain Catherine Hamilton, stroke Meredith Bracken, Sierra Baca, Jayme Batcher, Elise Panacek, Kathy Cheng, Alyssa Leahy, Barbara McKenna and bow Elise Levito led the second varsity B boat to the top-five finish.

In the very last race of the day, the women’s varsity eight competed in the women’s open heavy championship eight final, where they finished sixth of 27 boats. The Marlene Buckley II boat clocked in at 14:16.53 on the efforts of coxswain Kerry Walsh, stroke Julia Jackson, Elizabeth Campanella, Olivia Babiec, Samantha Cowan, Amanda O’Malley, Elizabeth Daugherty, Mollie Cusack and bow Colleen Delaney. Michigan State University placed first in the event in 13:56.45, just a split second ahead of Navy in 13:56.65.

The Dragons will conclude the 2012 fall season Nov. 10 in Cherry Hill, N.J., at the Frostbite Regatta. Savell is excited to see what his team can do in its last competition of the year, which is slightly different from the Dragons’ previous few races.

“The Frostbite is a 2,000-meter sprint format on the Cooper River in New Jersey, which will feature great racing. We have shifted gears to focus on sprint racing,” Savell said. “Drexel will have 12 boats coming down the course in consecutive races. This is a very spectator-friendly race, and we are hoping for a good turnout to support the team.”

Make the trip to cheer on your fellow Dragons as they look to continue their momentum and finish the season strong this weekend.

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Credit: Ken Chaney | The Drexel men’s varsity eight boat finished in 4th place out of 37 teams in its division at the 48th annual Head of the Charles Regatta, nine places better than last year’s result. From Oct. 20-21, the two-day event attracted over 300,000 spectators to watch 9,000 athletes compete in a total of 60 events on the Charles River in Boston.

The Drexel University men’s and women’s crew teams took a trip to Boston Oct. 20-21 to compete in the most anticipated event of the fall season, the 48th annual Head of the Charles Regatta.

Taking place on the Charles River between Cambridge and Boston, the Head of the Charles consists of 60 events and draws over 9,000 athletes and 300,000 spectators every year, making it the largest two-day rowing event in the world. The Head of the Charles is a head race competition, which means that the boats within a given event are staggered onto the course every several seconds and timed from start to finish as opposed to racing simultaneously. The 3.2-mile course, which is known to be exceptionally challenging to navigate, begins at Boston University’s state-of-the-art DeWolfe Boathouse and winds all the way to the finish line between Eliot Bridge, the last of six bridges in the race, and Northeastern University’s Henderson Boathouse.

Drexel sent two boats to compete at the prestigious regatta. The women were up first for the Dragons, competing in the extraordinarily competitive Championship Eights division, which included the U.S. women’s gold medal Olympic team, among other strong international and collegiate opponents. Drexel raced well and finished in 18:02.926, which was good for 29th place in the field of 40 teams, two places better than their 31st-place finish in 2011.

Despite Drexel’s initial goal of finishing in the top half of the division, head coach Paul Savell was satisfied with how his team competed, noting that “it was an incredibly fast field this year with only one college finishing in the top five. … We’re still continuing to pick up speed as we approach the end of the fall season.”

Two of the 11 teams the Drexel women finished ahead of were the United States Naval Academy, who topped the Dragons last week at the Navy Day Regatta, and a good University of Tennessee squad. The large number of good teams finishing near the back of the field is a testament to the quality of competition Drexel faced. The U.S. women’s national team placed first in the event with a time of 16:13.487.

Roughly half an hour after the women’s race began, the Drexel men were at the top of the course, approaching the starting line to compete in the Collegiate Eights division. Going into the race, the men’s goal was to finish in the top half of the 37-team field, which included such teams as the University of Virginia, Bucknell University, Boston College, the University of Notre Dame and Saint Joseph’s University, among others.

As Savell described following the race, the Dragons’ pre-race strategy was a “solid plan of building momentum throughout the race by increasing the stroke rating as we progressed through the course. Also, we knew that we had to take advantage of the inside turns when we could.” And Drexel did just that. They were able to execute their plan and efficiently pass crews in front of them. The Dragons swept through the finish line with a time of 15:57.988, which would earn them 4th place in their division.

The men’s stellar performance was nine places better than last year’s 13th-place finish and the best in Drexel men’s crew history. Savell was very happy with his team’s success, but he was not the least bit surprised given the overall strength of his team right now.

“We’ve had some success this fall with different combinations and lineups, which shows that we have a high level of competition within the team,” Savell said. “These guys are pushing each other every day.”

Savell continued, “This intersquad competition is elevating and giving us confidence when we face other teams. The depth of the team really shows through the performances of all of our boats this season from the varsity eight all the way to the freshman eight.”

Savell was also excited to see his team perform well at the fall season’s premier regatta, commenting that “it’s great to see that the hard work we are putting in every day is paying off on race day.”

Despite their success in Boston, both teams will quickly refocus for the home stretch of the fall season as they return to the Schuylkill River for the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta Oct. 27.

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[/media-credit] The Drexel men’s crew team races down the Schuylkill River at the Navy Day Regatta
Oct. 13, All four men’s eight boats competed well against a deep lineup of strong teams.

Drexel competed in four men’s and four women’s races on the day and finished in the top five in all of them. The men’s novice eight kicked off the day with a fourth-place finish with a time of 13:55.28. Two Penn boats took first and second in the event, and Navy finished in third. Senior Kurt Linton was impressed with the novice boat in its first race of the year:

“Overall, the team performed well at Navy Day. The freshmen continued to show that they are going to be fast and competitive as they have been in the past several years as well.”

The men’s novice team consisted of coxswain Christopher Henderson, stroke Mikulas Sum, Michael DiLucca, Daniel Palombo, Daniel Dollin, Paul Bellefleur, Nicholas Capaldi, Lawrence Lindawan and bow Daniel Pyle.

The women’s novice eight were up next for the Dragons, taking to the river for their first race of the year. The novice boat competed well and finished second out of seven teams in 15:40.85, 12 seconds behind Penn at 15:28.58 and ahead of others such as Navy, West Point and The College of New Jersey. Coxswain Rachel Bowen, stroke Rose Erhlich, Julie McGlynn, Taylor Brady, Rebecca McCool, Megan Raver, Kate Wilchek, Jordan Marinchak and bow Allie Schachter paced the Dragons to their runner-up finish.

The next events for the day were the men’s and women’s second varsity eights, with Drexel fielding two boats in each. The men’s second varsity eight ‘A’ squad was first out of the chute for Drexel and finished strong in 13:26.16, which would be good for a solid second-place behind Navy’s ‘A’ boat at 13:05.11. The Dragons’ second varsity ‘B’ boat was released from the chute about 90 seconds later, eventually clocking in at 13:40.10 for fifth place. Navy’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ boats were sandwiched between the Drexel boats in third and fourth places, respectively. Linton was happy with the performances by both second varsity squads, saying, “2V A and B both had strong finishes, and it’s good to see the depth of the team continuing to improve.”

The men’s second varsity ‘A’ boat included coxswain Victoria Kenion, stroke John Pieper, Cameron Staines, James Byrne, Jake Murphy, Ryan McSpedon, Milos Rujevic, Grigorios Papadourakis and bow Christian Ladd. Coxswain Diana Fox, stroke Dean Hill, Brian McCabe, Timothy Drake, Troy Beck, David Gockley, Brian Kissam, Andrew Weinstein and bow Matt Gehret comprised the second varsity men’s ‘B’ boat.

The women’s second varsity eights followed the men’s, and like the men, the Drexel women competed at a high level. The second varsity eight ‘A’ boat showcased its speed and strength with a time of 15:04.44, which was Drexel’s best women’s time of the day and earned them second place behind Navy at 14:53.19 and ahead of Penn at 15:18.07. The second varsity eight ‘B’ boat posted the fourth-fastest time of the event with 15:31.13.

Coxswain Catherine Hamilton, stroke Tori King, Emily Gartland, Kayla Wroblesky, Elizabeth Daugherty, Amanda Kleuser, Alyssa Leahy, Jayme Batcher and bow Jackie Bender all contributed to the second varsity ‘A’ boat’s impressive performance. The second varsity ‘B’ boat was powered and controlled by coxswain Sarah Messenger, stroke Sierra Baca, Alexa Antonioli, Amanda Dargay, Elise Panacek, Kathy Cheng, Bridget Pfeifer, Barbara McKenna and bow Elise Levito.

In Drexel’s final two races of Navy Day, the men’s and women’s varsity boats took to the water. The men were up first and finished in a respectable fourth place with a time of 13:20.73, Drexel’s fastest overall time of the day. Navy’s varsity eight ‘A’ and ‘B’ boats took first and third places with times of 12:48.37 and 13:13.61, respectively, and Penn placed second in 12:50.61. Despite the tough competition, Linton said, “Our place was not as strong as we would like to see, but at this point in our season we just look at it as another building block to the eventual goal of winning the biggest medal races in the spring like Dad Vails.” The men’s varsity eight team consisted of coxswain Marc Smith, stroke Aleksandar Radovic, Lorenzo Albala, Sebastian Ryan, Vanja Busic, Michael Faust, Ryan Mallgrave, Kurt Linton and bow Hartman Byers.

The varsity women’s eight capped off the regatta for Drexel with a third-place finish in 15:13.11, behind first-place Navy in 14:50.36 and second-place Penn in 14:59.97. After the races concluded, senior captain Mollie Cusack commented on her team’s progress at this point in the season:

“As a team, our physical fitness is better than it has ever been this early on in the season.”

Coxswain Kerry Walsh, stroke Julia Jackson, Elizabeth Campanella, Olivia Babiec, Samantha Cowan, Amanda O’Malley, Mallory Sykes, Cusack and bow Colleen Delaney made up the women’s varsity eight boat.

On the whole, the Navy Day Regatta was a successful one for the Drexel men and women. As head coach Paul Savell noted, “Across the board, our boats finished in the top five places. Only Navy and Penn had boats ahead of us. Now, we have some work ahead of us to track them down.”

The fall season as a whole is part of the progression toward achieving peak shape in the spring. By competing with strong programs like Navy and Penn, the rowers gain valuable experience in competing with strong opposition, which is valuable in highly competitive regattas in the future.

Drexel’s next competition is such a regatta. The Dragons will travel to Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta to face off against world-class rowers Oct. 21. According to Cusack, “The Head of the Charles Regatta is by far the most prestigious regatta of the fall season.” First held in 1965 as a one-day event, the Head of the Charles is now the largest two-day rowing event in the world, attracting over 9,000 athletes and 300,000 spectators each year. The race itself is a 3.2 mile head race that takes place on the Charles River, which runs between Boston and Cambridge, Mass. As the Dragons head into this highly anticipated competition, Savell said that their “first objective is to have a good, clean race and place in the top half of the field that will guarantee a spot for next year. Both the men and women want to move up from their places last year.” The men and women placed 13th and 31st, respectively, in the collegiate division in 2011.

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[/media-credit] The Drexel men’s varsity eight boat won its race by over two seconds with a time of 8:02:48. Meanwhile, the women’s varsity eight boat dominated the field with a time of 9:21:52, coasting to a 27-second victory.

Drexel comes into this regatta on the heels of a great showing at the Rumson Boat Race two weeks ago. Drexel won three out of the four events on hand, including a clean sweep of the men’s and women’s varsity eight races. The men’s varsity eight defeated second-place Rutgers University by 2.5 seconds (8:02.48 to 8:04.83), while the women’s varsity eight won their race by a very comfortable margin, defeating second-place Villanova by nearly 30 seconds (9.21:52 to 9:48.9). The women’s second varsity eight also won their race, but the Dragons were denied a clean sweep of all proceedings when the men’s second varsity eight lost to Army by the slimmest of margins.

Nevertheless, Director of Rowing and head men’s and women’s coach Paul Savell was happy with his team’s efforts.

“The early victory was a good reward for all the hard work put in during preseason training,” he said. “Hopefully it creates some momentum for our upcoming races.”

Savell was also impressed by the intensity and tenacity shown by his team at the Rumson race, saying that the mixture of underclassmen and upperclassmen involved were the catalyst to their “aggressive and energetic races, which helped produce a strong showing.”

As dominant a performance as the Dragons showed in Rumson, it doesn’t get easier for them this weekend. The Navy Day Regatta will act as a showcase for some of the top rowing teams on the East Coast and beyond, which Savell says should be a reminder that his team should “stay ahead with our training, for our competition will be training to improve and get faster as well`

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[/media-credit] The Drexel University men’s and women’s crew teams are back on the water and competing once again. Both teams opened the fall season Sept. 29, with the women earning two gold medals and the men earning one at the Rumson Boat Race in Rumson, N.J.

The Dragons’ results were nearly identical to their equally successful 2011 races, when they won all three races in which they competed. As was true last year, both women’s varsity eight boats won their respective races, winning both the Governor’s Cup and the Mayor’s Cup for the second consecutive year. The Drexel men brought home their second consecutive Governor’s Cup as well to complete a successful day on the Navesink.

The women’s Governor’s Cup victory came over Villanova by 27 seconds in the first women’s varsity race. The team was made up of coxswain Catherine Hamilton, stroke Olivia Babiec, Colleen Delaney, Julia Jackson, Samantha Cowan, Amanda O’Malley, Elizabeth Daugherty, Mollie Cusack and bow Elizabeth Campanella, who cruised to victory with a time of 9:21.52.

The women’s Mayor’s Cup was also an open-water victory for the Dragons over Villanova, this time by 19 seconds, in a winning time of 9:05.82. The Mayor’s Cup team featured Sarah Messenger, Amanda Kleuser, Bridget Pfeifer, Jackie Bender, Emily Gartland, Amanda Dargay, Alyssa Leahy, Jayme Batcher, and bow Elise Levito.

Over on the men’s side of the waters, the races were decided by much narrower margins. Drexel’s men’s Governor’s Cup eight boat finished ahead of Rutgers by just three-quarters of a length with a winning time of 8:02.48. The Governor’s Cup team was comprised of coxswain Marc Smith, stroke Sebastian Ryan, Vanja Busic, Michael Faust, Ryan Mallgrave, John Pieper, Adam Cordi, Kurt Linton and bow Hartman Byers.

In the male Mayor’s Cup, the men’s second team fought hard in the fastest race of the day. The crew came within just two seats and 1.64 seconds of finishing a perfect day for the Dragons as they lost a nail-biter to Army, finishing in 7:52.70. Stroke Grigorios Papadourakis, Brian McCabe, Timothy Drake, Ryan McSpedon, Dean Hill, Jake Murphy, Jacob Smith and bow Andrew Weinstein propelled the team to the second-place finish.

After a few days of reflection on the results, Director of Rowing and head coach Paul Savell talked about the Rumson victories.

“Winning is a great way to start off the season, especially against rival teams we see often,” he said. “We are very happy with the progress the team has made so far this season.

And yet Savell made it clear that he aspires for this team to reach even loftier heights than simply winning their first races of the season.

“We have what it takes to make this a strong year,” he said when asked about his confidence level with the teams. “It won’t be easy, but these guys aren’t afraid of hard work. Last year we had historic results, and we have a lot of strong rowers returning from that group who are determined to win again this year.”

Looking ahead, the Dragons’ next race will be their veritable home opener Oct. 13 at the Navy Day Regatta on the waters of the Schuylkill River. Last year the Dragons finished three second-place boats.

“This race has some of the best competition we’ll see all fall,” Savell said when asked about the Navy Day Regatta. “We had really strong results across the board last year, and we’re looking to repeat that this year.”

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[/media-credit] The Drexel University crew team will compete in the 3rd annual Rumson Boat Race Sept. 28 in a five-team competition against Rutgers, Army, Villanova and Bucknell.

Speaking before the race, Director of Rowing and head men’s and women’s coach Paul Savell talked about his team’s preparations for the new season.

“This year the team had a full two weeks of preseason training and really put in some quality miles during that time,” he said. “Overall, the team came back in better shape and more fit than in previous years. It might have been all the excitement from last year’s successes that kept them working hard this summer.”

There is good reason for Savell’s team to have been excited about last season’s performances. Drexel Crew had a series of triumphs in the previous season, taking home four medals in the highly prestigious Dad Vail Regatta (which included gold medals for the women’s novice eight and women’s second varsity), having its men’s and women’s varsity eight boats complete a clean sweep of the Bergen and Kelly Cups, and collectively taking home five medals at the 2012 Knecht Cup.

While not naming a specifically tough team Drexel will go up against in Saturday’s race, Savell did say that things will be tricky for the team regardless.

“Early-season competition is always difficult to predict. Rutgers’ men and Villanova always come to fight,” Savell said. However, the biggest challenge Savell said the team will face isn’t another team — it’s the elements.

“The conditions in Rumson can be variable with some prevailing winds coming off the ocean. We will have to row in choppy water conditions in order to prevail,” Savell said.

Senior rower Kurt Linton comes into his final season at Drexel with lofty hopes for how things will go along.

“Expectations are definitely higher this year, possibly more than they have ever been. There isn’t a real desperation or panic but definitely a set of expectations we see for ourselves that we can definitely reach if we keep up the pace that we came into last season with,” Linton said.

Furthermore, Linton is of the opinion that not only can the whole team improve, but specific factions of the team can also improve.

“The biggest thing for us is learning what went well and what didn’t last year. We really made strides in the middle to end of last spring, and me along with six guys from varsity eight are back and know what it takes to compete at the highest level now. Last year gave us a lot of experience, and we just want to take that and jump ahead of where we would normally be or what we would be expecting,” Linton said.

Ultimately, Savell wants things to start off on the right foot come Saturday, to set a good tone for the season ahead.

“We always want to perform at our best,” Savell said. “Lineups are far from set at this point, as we are still competing for seats within the team. I look to this race to see how individuals handle race-day conditions.”

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Junior guard Chris Fouch shoots a jump shot against Hofstra University as avid DAC Pack members look on at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons won the game 78-67, further establishing the DAC as one of the most hostile environments in basketball.

The most popular sport at Drexel is men’s basketball, hands down. Even before the season begins, the anticipation is palpable on campus. During the season, campus is always buzzing. And why not? Head coach James “Bruiser” Flint was quoted last year saying that the Dragons were the best college basketball team in the city.

The Drexel men’s basketball team started last season on ESPN’s Midnight Madness. The Dragons were picked as the early-season favorites to win the Colonial Athletic Association and to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament. Drexel got off to a slow start, losing four of the first six games. After that stretch, the Dragons lost only one more game the rest of the season to capture a conference title. In the CAA tournament, the Dragons won their first two games to advance to the finals. The Dragons faced Virginia Commonwealth University, which just a year earlier made it all the way to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament. VCU beat Drexel 56-59, thus making the Dragons ineligible for an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. Even after the CAA Tournament loss, many experts were picking Drexel to make it into the NCAA Tournament by means of the selection committee. But alas, the selection committee snubbed Drexel for the second year in a row. Drexel instead participated in the National Invitation Tournament and lost in the quarterfinals.

This year the Dragons will surely continue on the same track as last year’s campaign. They only graduated one senior, and their younger players, most notably sophomore Damion Lee, emerged in the second half of the season. Junior Frantz Massenat and seniors Derrick Thomas, Chris Fouch and Daryl McCoy are all one year older and are primed to lead this team to an NCAA Tournament bid. However, their window to win may be closing. The team will graduate key players after this coming season, leaving a significant leadership void.

Another team to watch is the Drexel men’s lacrosse team. Last season the Dragons finished 8-8 and lost in the finals of the CAA Tournament. They narrowly missed the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. Last season they graduated six seniors, including star goalie Mark Manos. This year the team selected seniors Garrett McIntosh, Aaron Prosser and Chris Walsh to be their new captains, ushering in a new era for the team.

In the fall and spring, Drexel offers men’s and women’s crew. The crew team is one of the best in the country, competing in invitationals across the United States. Last season the men’s team completed one of its most successful seasons of all time, capped off by an invitation to the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in Thames, England. Both men’s and women’s crew begin their fall season Sept. 29.

In the spring, softball will be an interesting team to watch. The Drexel softball team narrowly missed the CAA Tournament last season after losing its final game. Now the softball team has a new coach, Miranda Ervin, who stresses defense and team play, something the softball team has been missing for a few years.

Right now, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams are in season, and they are doing very well. The men’s team is 3-2-1, and the women’s team is 6-1-1. The women will begin a stretch of conference games starting Sept. 21, while the men will start their stretch of conference games Sept. 22 at home.

Drexel has many other teams such as women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s squash, to name a few. Our advice to you is to get involved and go to a game. You won’t regret it.

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Former Drexel rower Steve Kasprzyk, who graduated in 2005, was selected to compete on the United States men’s eight in the 2012 Olympics in London. The men  fell just short of earning a medal by a painful three-tenths of a second.

The United States men’s eight rowing team traveled to England last week to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Representing the U.S. as part of the squad was Drexel University’s own Stephen “Steve” Kasprzyk, a 2005 graduate and star on the Drexel rowing team.

The six-foot-seven-inch, 215-pound rower from Cinnaminson, N.J., began rowing for the Dragons as a freshman in 2000 and later led the team to the finals of the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta in 2002. Over the course of his career after college, Kasprzyk spent four years on the U.S. national team — 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012 — with London as his first Olympic Games.

The U.S. men’s eight boat consisted of coxswain Zach Vlahos, stroke Grant James, David Banks, Kasprzyk, Jake Cornelius, Brett Newlin, Ross James, Will Miller and Giuseppe Lanzone. Mike Teti, a three-time Olympic rower and five-time Olympic rowing head coach, took the role as the U.S. men’s eight coach once again. As a rower, Teti won a bronze medal and placed fourth on the men’s eight boats at the Olympics in Seoul and Barcelona, respectively. As a coach he led the U.S. men’s eight to gold in 2004 in Athens and bronze in 2008 in Beijing. While the men’s eight team appeared to be on the decline in Beijing, it has since been revitalized this past year, consistently improving leading up to the London Olympics.

All of the rowing events at this year’s Olympics took place at Dorney Lake in Windsor. Dorney Lake, also known as Eton Dorney, is a relatively new 2,200-meter-long artificial lake that was completed in 2006.

The U.S. men’s eight opened up Olympic competition July 28 on the state-of-the-art course in the preliminary round. The preliminaries were broken down into two heats of four boats, with the winners of each heat advancing to Final A and the remaining six crews advancing to the repechage July 30 to determine heat placement for the finals. Each race is 2,000 meters long. Team USA won its preliminary heat with a time of 5:30.72, earning a spot in Final A. Germany won the other preliminary heat with a time of 5:25.52, claiming the other early berth into Final A.

Based on the results in the repechage, four additional teams joined Final A and two comprised Final B, with both finals taking place Aug. 1. The U.S. would face off against Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, Australia and Canada, while Poland and Ukraine would race in the other heat. The Germans, unbeaten since 2009, entered the final as the clear favorites to win the gold.

The race began with the British immediately challenging the Germans. A crowd of over 25,000, which mainly consisted of Englishmen, cheered loudly as the boats passed the halfway point. The two teams battled fiercely for the first 1,500 meters of the race before the power and increased stroke rate of the German eight propelled them into the lead. Meanwhile, the Canadian eight made an impressive move in the last quarter of the race to overtake the U.K., but they were unable to catch the Germans, who won the race by half a length with a time of 5:48.75. This marks the first time the Germans have won this event at the Olympics since 1988. Canada crossed the line in 5:49.98. The U.S. started slow but furiously fought back and narrowly missed a bronze medal, finishing in 5:51.48, which was just three-tenths of a second behind the U.K. at 5:51.18.

Despite the crushing disappointment of missing a medal by such a small margin, the U.S. men’s eight should certainly be proud of their performance.

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The Drexel men’s eight had an impressive 2011-12 season, but fell short of a victory at the Royal Henley Regatta, which took place in England on the River Thames from June 27 to July 1. After entering the competition with high hopes, the Dragons fell to Harvard University during the Temple Challenge Cup June 24.

Sponsored by Herbert and Karen Lotman and led by head coach Paul Savell, Drexel sent its men’s heavyweight eight to race in the Lois Krall boat. The men’s eight boat that competed in England consisted of senior coxswain Randall Lee, junior stroke Kurt Linton, junior Paul Wisniowski, sophomore Michael Faust, junior Lorenzo Albala, sophomore Sebastian Ryan, freshman Ryan Mallgrave, sophomore Vanja Busic and senior bow Will Masters.

The men’s eight qualified for the regatta for the first time in University history and were one of 20 teams granted an automatic berth in the Temple Challenge Cup, a 32-team eights competition for male teams from colleges, schools and universities. The remaining 12 crews in the field were determined during qualifying in the days leading up to the event. Every race at the Henley Regatta is head-to-head, with the losers eliminated and the winners advancing until a champion is crowned.

The draws for the Temple Challenge Cup were determined June 24, and the Dragons’ eight boat learned it would be competing against the Harvard University Crimson’s lightweight eight, one of the toughest draws in the field. The Harvard lightweight eight entered the race undefeated on the season, with an Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship to their name. The Dragons approached the Henley Regatta with their own momentum, as they were fresh off a first-place performance June 23 at the 800-meter Reading Town Regatta, the team’s final test before the race with Harvard.

Despite the Dragons’ best efforts, the Crimson emerged with a three-length victory on the 2,112-meter course and eliminated Drexel. Harvard went on to lose narrowly to the eventual champion University of Washington in the semifinal race, a testament to the caliber of Drexel’s opponent.

While the Drexel men’s eight had an early exit from the Henley Royal Regatta, simply competing at such a world-class event was a great way to cap off an already-impressive season. The Drexel men’s crew team’s season was one of the best in school history and certainly indicates success to follow in the future of Drexel crew.

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The women’s crew team concluded their season with the Dad Vail Regatta. Their male counterparts just wrapped up their competition at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta May 31-June 2. Next, the men’s heavyweight eight are set to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta.

The IRA Championships, hosted on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., feature some of the best boats in the nation. The Dragons were facing their toughest opponents thus far, competing in what was the first team bid ever earned by the program.

They held their own in their inaugural appearance at the challenging event and finished faster than their No. 18 seed would suggest. Head coach Paul Savell was pleased with the accomplishment of securing a bid and was proud of his team’s performance. He considered it a success that the team finished higher than its seeding.

“Securing a bid to the men’s national championship was a great accomplishment for our team,” Savell said. ”We knew we would face the fastest teams in the country. Our guys handled themselves with poise and really stepped up on the third day of racing to place 16th overall in team standings.”

This does not mark the end of Drexel’s 2011-12 season, however. Just days later, Director of Athletics Eric Zillmer announced that the men’s varsity eight boat will be traveling overseas to the Henley Royal Regatta.

“Our men’s heavyweight eight has had a very strong year and deserves to compete at Henley,” Zillmer said.

The prestigious regatta will take place June 27 through July 1 on the Thames River in England. Philanthropists Herbert Lotman, a former CEO and chairman of Keystone Foods Corp., and Karen Lotman, president of Karen Lotman Productions, made the trip overseas possible with a generous donation.

“I am very proud of the accomplishments of the Drexel Crew,” Herbert Lotman said. “Coach Savell has done an outstanding job building an elite program, and I am happy to help sponsor them on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to row at the Henley.”

The team is excited to make the trip and is ready to put long hours in the gym and on the river in preparation. The rowers have made sure to find extra time around their many jobs, classes and other duties to put forth their best effort in the international event.

“There is a lot of excitement as we prepare for Henley,” Savell said. ”The guys have stepped up training to twice a day around their co-op jobs.”

Held annually since 1839, the Henley Royal Regatta is an international showcase of the world’s best rowing programs on the two-lane, 2,000-meter course. This will not be the first time it hosts a boat from Drexel — Drexel’s women’s varsity eight won the Elite 8 title and the Sports Council Cup at the 2010 Women’s Henley.

Savell and the male rowers hope to mimic the success of their female counterparts in years past.

Success at Henley would only add to what has already been a strong, triumphant season for the men. They have already put forth impressive showings at the San Diego Crew Classic, the Knecht Cup, the Kerr Cup and the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. According to Savell, this may have been the most successful season in team history.

“We are very hopeful with the men and the proven success they have had this year,” Savell said.

The team looks to add to its accolades and accomplishments from the season with a powerful showing at Henley.

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After a one-boat bronze-medal appearance for the men’s varsity four in the 2011 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships, the Drexel University men’s crew team came back this season hungry for more.

This week, Drexel was selected as one of 18 universities across the coun- try to compete in the 2012 IRA National Championships. The events will take place May 31 through June 2 on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. This marks the first time in school history that the Dragons earned a team bid to the Championships.

Drexel will compete against some of the best crew teams in the nation, such as Cornell University, Harvard University, Stanford University, the U.S. Naval Academy, the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin.

“This is a huge step for our team,” Paul Savell, director of rowing, said. “The three extra weeks of training we are doing to prepare for this race is invaluable. We will look forward to lining up with the fastest teams in the country.”

Savell will guide four boats at the Championships, with the heats beginning May 31. Depending on how the Dragons finish in each event, the following heats would either be later in the afternoon May 31 in the repechages or June 1 for the semifinals.

The varsity eight on the Lois Krall boat, the second varsity eight on the Annette Pennoni boat, the freshman eight on the Peggy Greenawalt boat, and the open four on the Tobey and Kim Oxholm boat all finished sixth in their respective races.

The first and second varsity eight boats will compete again June 2.

In the team’s last competition May 11- 12, the Dragons finished second overall at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, including a bronze medal for the varsity eight, a fourth-place finish for the second varsity eight, and a silver medal for the freshman eight.

Freshman Victoria Kenion of Winchester, Mass., this season’s coxswain for the freshman eight, will be the only female Dragon competing at the IRA National Championships.

Drexel looks to make a splash in the national collegiate crew circuit on the Cooper River this weekend. With such historic programs racing right next to them, the Dragons await their opportunity for the oars to hit the water.

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The Drexel crew team sent a record-tying fi ve boats to the grand fi nals for the third straight year at the historic 74th annual aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta May 12. The women’s novice eight boat and women’s second varsity eight boat both earned gold medals, the fi rst in the program’s history.

Featuring boats from all across the U.S. and a couple from Canada, the Dad Vail has the distinction of being the biggest collegiate rowing event in the U.S. Under the guidance of head coach Paul Savell, Drexel has a history of success in the two-day event.

Friday saw eight of the 10 boats qualify for the semifinals the next day in a dominant showing on the Schuylkill River. The women’s varsity four and novice eight set the tone with first-place finishes in their heats, with the varsity eight and second varsity eight qualifying second behind Grand Valley University and Saint Joseph’s University, respectively.

Taking their cue from their female counterparts, the men’s boats were equally impressive on day 1. The varsity eight, novice eight, varsity pair finished first in their heats with the novice four coming in a close second to the Western Ontario University boat, thus qualifying for the next day’s heats.

Drexel’s form held over the next day, as five boats made it past the semifinal hurdle and into the grand finals, with the women’s varsity eight making the petite final.

In the women’s finals, the second varsity eight blew past Bucknell University in the final stretch to secure gold and the Coleman D. Boylan Trophy with a time of 7:11.124. Not to be outdone, the novice eight matched their more experienced counterparts with a time of 7:04.592, which was enough to earn them gold. Drexel got its third gold medal in the eight divisions when the varsity eight inched past the University of Dayton to win in a time of 6:55.857.

With the gauntlet thrown down, Drexel’s men’s boats responded with an equally strong response, as the novice eight and varsity eight earned medal finishes. In the Lev Brett Bowl, the novice eight crossed the line four seconds behind Marietta College to secure a silver medal. Their effort redeemed the second varsity eight, who had finished just outside of the podium in the Ernie Bayer Trophy Grand Final.

The highly anticipated men’s eight final saw the Dragons take home their second men’s medal, as they piped the University of Virginia to finish third behind the University of Michigan and the Florida Institute of Technology with a time of 6:02.401. There was late drama, however, as an appeal by the Purdue University boat saw the final result remain in suspense for two hours as the merits of their case were reviewed and the possibility of a do-over race loomed. After a lengthy deliberation, the race result stood, and the Dragons took their rightful place on the podium for the sixth time.

The strong performances from all the Drexel boats brought a very successful season to an end for Paul Savell’s crew. Top finishes in the Kerr and Knecht Cups set an early tone for the programs that they delivered on in a superb showing in the showpiece at Dad Vail. With positive results in the novice boats for both programs, there are signs that this year’s Dad Vail will not be the last time that cowbells ring out loud on the banks of the Schuylkill River as a Drexel boat surges to the finish.

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The Drexel men’s and women’s crew teams will be competing on the Schuykill River for the historic Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta May 11-12. Drexel is just a few years removed from sending a record-five boats to compete in the grand finals on the second day.

The Dad Vail is the largest collegiate regatta in the world with 132 competing colleges. The Dragons have been hard at work, putting in long training hours in preparation of the contest. They hope to take advantage of the nationally televised event by building on their accomplishments and the strides they have made since the start of the season.

“Dad Vail is the culmination of a year’s worth of work,” head coach Paul Savell said. “From September through the second Saturday of May, the team uses Dad Vail as driving motivation. Everyone wants to be on the starting line Saturday afternoon for the grand finals.”

Using Dad Vail as a motivation appears to have led this team to great achievements thus far this season. The Dragons will have not one but two teams in the immediate spotlight as No. 1 seeds as a result of their success this year.  Holding top seeds are the men’s freshman eight and the women’s freshman eight.

The goal will be to match or top last year’s performance, according to Savell. That will not be the easiest task to achieve given Drexel’s high standards. Last year Drexel advanced a record-tying five boats to the grand finals, with the men’s varsity pair earning gold and the men’s novice eight earning silver. This time around, Savell will look for a few rowers to have a big weekend.

“We are hoping that Drexel rowers [will bring] home some hardware,” Savell said.

With strong individual performances, hopefully team success will follow. As a unit, Drexel will look to stand out and be recognized for a strong showing among the many colleges competing.  Team success would be a strong way to end a dominating season for the Dragons.

“We have had a very successful season,” Savell said. “Our team has developed physiologically and psychologically as we have gained race experience through the season.”

It was just two years ago that the women’s varsity eight shattered the competition and finished with gold en route to their invitation to the Henley Royal Regatta in England, one of the most internationally heralded regattas, where they finished as the top collegiate boat in the world.

Hopefully all their hard work this season will pay off this weekend, earning Drexel the spotlight as it did just a couple of years ago.

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The men’s and women’s crew team had a strong showing at the Bergen and Kelly Cups. Both variety eight boats took home gold in the events.

The men’s team completed a clean sweep of both varsity eight races, defeating Temple University in the varsity eight and the second varsity eight. The team of sophomores Sebastian Ryan, Vanja Busic and Michael Faust; juniors Kurt Linton, Paul Wisniowski, Aleksandar Radovic and Lorenzo Albala; and seniors Randall Lee and Will Masters finished five seconds ahead of Temple in the varsity eight race. They finished with a time of 6:04.9. The second varsity eight also won their race, beating out Temple by two seconds, finishing with a time of 6:11.5.

The men’s pair team of senior Pete Eyrich and junior Adam Cordi won their event with a time of 7:33.9, edging out second-place La Salle University by five seconds. Rounding off proceedings for the day, the Drexel freshman eight won their race. The team of Dean Hill, Brian McCabe, Hartman Byers, Cameron Staines, James Byrne, Jake Murphy, Grigorios Papadourakis and Christian Ladd finished first ahead of La Salle.

On the other hand, the women’s team performed well not only at the Kelly Cup, which they won for the third time in four years, but also at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships April 29.

In the Kelly Cup, they won both varsity eight events and were named Drexel co-Athletes of the Week as a result, along with senior men’s golfer Benjamin Feld. The first boat, including seniors Julia Jackson, Elizabeth Bratton, Emily Coyle and coxswain Alex Paulin; juniors Mollie Cusack, Samantha Cowan and Alexa Antonioli; sophomore Elizabeth Daugherty and freshman Sierra Baca, finished with a time of 6:56.1, beating second-place St. Joseph’s University by four seconds.

The women’s second varsity eight also won their race, once again beating St. Joe’s, although by a closer margin than their aforementioned counterparts.

The following day, the women’s team participated in the CAA Championships in Occoquan, Va. They finished fourth overall with 22 total points, behind the University at Buffalo, Boston University and eventual winner Northeastern University — which won its second consecutive CAA title and third in the last four years. The day’s highlights included the second varsity eight team’s second-place finish behind Northeastern and the naming of Elizabeth Bratton and Julia Jackson to the All-CAA team.

Up next for Drexel is the final and perhaps most important regatta on the collegiate rowing calendar: the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. Drexel, along with 119 other schools across the United States and Canada, will take part in the 74th annual installment of this illustrious competition May 11-12. The qualifiers take place on May 11, and the semifinals and finals are scheduled for May 12.

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The men’s and women’s crew team competed in the Kerr Cup Regatta April 21. The men took home the Dr. Thomas Kerr Cup and the women took home the Lela Kerr Cup for the second and third years in a row, respectively.

In addition, the men’s side won the freshman pair and eight events. Not to be outdone, the women’s second varsity eight, freshman four and novice eight finished in first place. In total, both sides won their cups by significant margins. The 84 points obtained by the women’s side were 39 more than second-place Fordham University, while the 62 points collected by the men were 36 more than their nearest competitors from The Pennsylvania State University.

The men’s varsity eight beat out La Salle University by nearly nine seconds in their event. The team of seniors Randall Lee and Will Masters; juniors Kurt Linton, Paul Wisniowski, Aleksandar Radovic and Lorenzo Albala; and sophomores Sebastian Ryan, Vanja Busic and Michael Faust won with a time of 6:27.1.

While the second varsity eight finished second with a time of 6:35.5, they rebounded with a victory in the freshman eight. The team of Dean Hill, Brian McCabe, Hartman Byers, Cameron Staines, James Byrne, Casimir Czworkowski, Grigorios Papadourakis and Christian Ladd beat out second-place Penn State by nearly 20 seconds. The men’s pair won by 15 seconds in their final.

On the other side, the women’s side did its fair share of winning as well. Drexel won four out of the six events that day. The most noteworthy result came in the women’s varsity eight final. Simply put, it was a dominating performance by the Dragons. They beat La Salle by a full 23 seconds, as the squad of seniors Elizabeth Bratton, Emily Cole, Julia Jackson and Asiya Mahmud; juniors Alexa Antonioli and Mollie Cusack; sophomore Elizabeth Daugherty and freshman Sierra Baca posted a time of 7:28.7.

Next up for Drexel Crew is the Philadelphia-centric Bergen Cup Regatta April 28, where the men will compete for the Bergen Cup and the women for the Kelly Cup. Among Drexel’s competition will be La Salle, Temple University, St. Joseph’s University and Philadelphia University. This regatta is the final event for Drexel before the Colonial Athletic Association championships April 29 and the Dad Vail Regatta May 11-12.

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The Drexel men’s varsity eight boat, named the Antoinette Pennoni boat, won gold in its grand final heat at the Knecht Cup on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. For their efforts, along with Amanda Norcini of the women’s lacrosse team, the boat’s rowers were named co-Athletes of the Week.

Competing against boats from The College of William & Mary and Temple University on the familiar territory of the Schuylkill River two weeks earlier, Drexel recorded four wins overall with two in both the men’s and women’s categories. The second and third varsity eights on the men’s side and the varsity four and freshman eight on the women’s side finished ahead of the pack.

Their good form carried over into the Bucknell Invitational April 7 on the Susquehanna River in Shamokin Dam, Pa. as Drexel’s boats put in a dominating performance. By the end of the day, Drexel walked away with four first-place finishes as the men’s varsity eight, second varsity eight, freshman eight and women’s freshman eight beat out their hosts. The splits in the men’s second eight and the women’s freshman eight heats were particularly noteworthy, as each finished a comfortable 22 and 31 seconds, respectively, ahead of their opponents.

The Dragons next arrived at the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. April 14-15 in a good vein of form. Hosted by the Villanova University women’s crew program, the race features over 60 schools that partake in a two-day event with the qualifying heats April 14 and the finalists taking center stage April 15. With the women’s three silver-medal finishes in the eight boat category and a gold, a silver and a bronze medal in the men’s categories last year, the Knecht cup traditionally brings out the best in head crew coach Paul Savell’s teams.

As expected, Drexel continued its streak of Knecht Cup success, as all but two of the 10 boats that Drexel put into the water qualified for the April 15 grand final.

The men’s varsity eight took first place in their heat with a time of 5:55.30, almost matched by the second varsity eight, who won their heat in a time of 6:03.34. Drexel’s winning streak was halted temporarily when Philadelphia University and Army beat out the varsity four for a place in the grand final. Drexel’s third-place finish was enough though to secure a place in the petite final.

Drexel’s success resumed shortly, however, as the varsity pair of Pete Eyrich and Adam Cordi set a blistering time of 7:45.05 in their opening heat to qualify for the semifinal round. Despite shaving an extra 13 seconds off their time, the pair was beaten to the finish by Colgate University. Eyrich and Cordi’s second-place finish in a time of 7:32.03 was enough to earn them a place in the grand final.

Drexel’s novice boats continued the strong showing later in the day, as the novice eight secured a place in the grand final with a second-place finish. The novice four qualified for the semifinal with a first-place time of 7:16.94 before storming to another first-place finish in the semifinals with a time of 7:09.81, booking their place in the grand final.

In the women’s category, Drexel’s dominance on the water continued. The second varsity eight and the varsity pair both finished in grand final places with times of 6:49.72 and 9:00.58 respectively. Drexel’s other two boats suffered mixed fortunes, as the varsity eight finished outside of the grand final places. They would, however, take their place in the petite final. The novice eight continued their strong spring form by finishing in a time of 7:04.09 and qualifying for the grand final.

With eight boats in grand finals and two in the petite finals, expectation levels rose going into day 2. Drexel reliably responded.

A second-place finish by the men’s varsity eight with a time of 5:48:08 started off the medal haul for the Dragons, as their silver medal was complemented by another silver achieved by the men’s novice eight in a time of 6:02.05. The varsity pair took bronze after finishing behind Colgate and Rutgers-Camden. The second varsity eight’s gold finish happened with a time of 5:59.82, which rounded out Drexel’s collection of medals. The eight’s gold medal was further recognized in an Athlete of the Week nod from the Drexel athletic department.

Drexel’s final medal of the weekend was won with a time of 6:02.05 by the women’s eight. The high level of competition was apparent, as the Dragons missed out on the gold medal by two seconds, due to a late surge by Trinity University.

Savell’s Dragons are in action again April 21 as they host the Kerr Cup on the Schuylkill River. With the Dad Vail Regatta and the Colonial Athletic Association Championships fast approaching, Drexel will be looking to continue its strong showing this spring. And with the taste of medals still fresh on the Dragons’ palates, expectations will remain high for a strong showing from the home team.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers aren’t the only ones scoring an abundance of goals these days. In the two Drexel University women’s lacrosse games this week, sophomore midfielder Amanda Norcini scored five goals and was named Drexel co-Athlete of the Week along with the men’s second varsity eight boat.

“To receive this recognition is an honor,” Norcini said. “But to me it’s a team award because everyone has played well. All of my teammates contributed this week to our success, and anybody could have been given this award.”

During a 9-4 victory over the University of Delaware April 13, Norcini led the team with three draw controls and was one of four Dragons to score two goals. With Drexel leading 5-4 in the second half, Norcini cashed in on a free position opportunity and followed it up with another goal minutes later to put the game away for good.

“We played well on both ends of the field,” Norcini said. “We possessed the ball efficiently on attack and came up with big stops on defense.”

It was a different story April 15 against Towson University, however, as the Tigers defeated the Dragons 11-10. Norcini had a hat trick, scoring three goals in the game, all on free position attempts, including two in the second half to give Drexel a 9-5 lead. Towson then scored four consecutive goals to tie the game and notched the game-winning goal with just 30 seconds remaining.

Although the loss dropped the Dragons to a 9-5 overall record and 2-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association, Norcini and the rest of the Dragons have had no problem scoring this season and are averaging 12 goals per game. Drexel returned six of its top seven scorers from last season, and the offense is clicking at a high level.

“We have everyone back from last year’s attacking unit,” head coach Anna Marie Vesco said. “They are used to each other’s strengths and weaknesses and are displaying great chemistry together.”

Norcini hails from Wayne, Pa. and played lacrosse for Conestoga High School. As a freshman at Drexel, she played in all 17 games, recording 11 goals and three assists. She was named to the CAA All-rookie Team and earned the Commissioner’s Academic Award. So far this season, Norcini ranks third on the team in scoring with 26 goals and four assists.

“Amanda is very unassuming but is a fierce competitor who hates to lose,” Vesco said. “She has been instrumental in all aspects of the game and is an all-around stud player.”

The women’s lacrosse team wraps up its season this week against The College of William & Mary and Old Dominion University April 20 and 22, respectively. Both of the Dragons’ games are at home and will be played at Vidas Field.

Also receiving Drexel Athletics co-Athlete of the Week honors were the members of the Drexel men’s crew team’s second varsity boat, named the Antoinette Pennoni boat. The boat consists of coxswain Marc Smith, stroke John Pieper, Marcus DeMarici, Filip Topalovic, Brian Timlin, Kevin Rorabaugh, Ryan Mallgrave, Timothy Drake and bow Patrick McGann.

The Dragons earned a gold medal with a time of 5:59.82 in the finals of the 2012 Knecht Cup, held on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. April 14-15. The men’s crew team earned a total of four medals over the weekend. Drexel will host the Kerr Cup April 21 on the home waters of the Schuylkill River.

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The Drexel crew team competed in the 39th annual San Diego Crew Classic March 31 and April 1. The Dragons’ men’s and women’s varsity eight boats fi nished fourth in their fi nal heats. Both the men and women will compete in the Bucknell Invitational April 7.

Both the men’s and women’s varsity eight boats placed fourth in their final heats, which is notable considering that new lineups were used for the first time in each varsity eight boat.

“I really like how both boats made improvements from the heat to the finals,” head crew coach Paul Savell said. “The men raced aggressively from the start, and the women had better control than in their heat.”

The women’s varsity eight — manned by coxswain Alex Paulin; stroke Elizabeth Bratton, Julia Jackson, Elizabeth Daugherty, Sierra Baca, Juliana DeMarici, Mallory Sykes and Mollie Cusack; and bow Alexa Antonioli — finished fifth in their preliminary heat with a time of 7:05.71. Duke University won that heat with a blazing time of 6:48.94.

“The women had a difficult time in the heat, placing fifth with their new lineup,” Savell said.

The women improved greatly on their time in the third finals, where they finished fourth with a time of 6:59.72. They were about 10 seconds behind the University of Miami Hurricanes, who took first place.

“The women settled into a better pace in the final and improved our overall time by six seconds,” Savell commented. “We made good adjustments but still have not found our top speed.”

The men’s varsity eight, also sporting a new look with coxswain Randall Lee; strokes Kurt Linton, Paul Wisniowski, Aleksandar Radovic, Lorenzo Albala, Sebastian Ryan, Vanja Busic and Michael Faust; and bow Will Masters, finished second in their preliminary heat, being edged out only by the University of Notre Dame. The Dragons, who finished with a time of 6:13.60, were less than three seconds behind the Fighting Irish.

“The men had a strong heat on Saturday to advance to the grand finals on Sunday,” Savell said.

In that grand final, the men had a tough draw in lane 5 in San Diego, where lanes 1 and 2 get more shelter from the wind. Even so, the men were able to get out of the gate very quickly.

“The guys came off the starting line ready to race and led for the first three quarters of the race before being overtaken for a fourth-place finish,” Savell said.

After slowing down from their hot start, the Dragons finished the race with a time of 6:37.86, which was about five seconds behind first-place Grand Valley State University.

“I am very confident we will continue to pick up speed over the next couple weeks leading into the final stretch,” Savell said of his boats.

The recent competition, which featured some of the best boats in the country, was a great test for the Dragons.

“The San Diego Crew Classic was a great opportunity to see the West Coast teams on a national platform,” Savell said. “There was an extremely competitive field at the race this year, and it was good to go test our speed against them.”

The Dragons now look to pick up some more speed as they push into the grand finals, including the all-important Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, later this season.

“As we go into the second half of the season, we need to ratchet up our focus and keep our eyes on the prize,” Savell said.

Both the men and the women are set to compete in the Bucknell Invitational April 7.

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The Drexel women’s varsity eight boat (above) placed second in its respective race on the Schuylkill River March 10. The Marlene Buckley boat posted a time of 7:00.3, placing just behind first place finisher Saint Joseph’s University. Other competitors on the Schuylkill that day were the University of Delaware and La Salle University.

For the men, the second varsity eight boat started the day with a first-place finish in just over 6:12. The second men’s boat finished second, so Drexel was able to capture the top two spots in the field and run away with that victory. La Salle finished third, followed by St. Joes and Delaware. Drexel really showed dominance with its two boats in beating the rest of the competition.

With a time of 5:56.8, the varsity eight boat of Randall Lee, Vanja Busic, Sebastian Ryan, Lorenzo Albala, Kurt Linton, Aleksandar Radovic, Marko Durica, Brian Timlin and Michael Faust was able to finish two seconds ahead of the top La Salle boat.

Another good sign for the Dragons was that the freshmen also dominated the day, showing that Drexel should have a good team for some time. The Vince Vidas boat finished in first place with a time of 6:10.1.

The men were able to win every event they competed in and showed once again that Drexel will have another strong crew team. The team contributes a lot of its success to all the work everyone puts into the season in the fall and winter. They like to see it pay off, especially when they get the kind of results they have over the past few years.

The women also showed a very strong freshman class, winning the freshman eight race with a time of 7:07.0 — a full 14 seconds better than the second-place Delaware boat. Winning by more than 10 seconds in such a dominant race is a big accomplishment for the women.

The John A. Daskalakis boat also finished first with Caitlin Meehan, Asiya Mahmud, Mallory Sykes, Elizabeth Campanella, Emily Coyle, Amanda O’Malley, Alyssa Leahy, Jackie Bender and Colleen Delaney. The women’s second varsity eight shell clocked in at 6:45.2, followed by Saint Joseph’s, Delaware, Drexel’s second boat and La Salle, respectively.

The women’s varsity eight boat was the only Drexel boat that did not finish first. Its close second-place finish behind St. Joe’s was all that separated the Dragons from a clean sweep on the day.

Drexel’s next competition is March 17 against Villanova University and Franklin & Marshall College. The teams hope to continue with their strong finishes from the past weekend and show another strong performance this weekend.

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The Drexel crew team finished their season Nov. 12 on the Schuylkill River for the Frostbite Regatta. The Dragons outperformed everyone on the water that day as they totaled 12 medals — six gold medals and six silver medals.

“Overall, we’re really happy with how we did this fall season,” senior coxswain Alex Paulin said.

Last year, the crew team came away with five second-place finishes in the Frostbite Regatta. While five second-place finishes is nothing to scoff at, six gold and six silver medals are some serious hardware. The women’s freshman four and eight, first and second varsity eight, men’s junior varsity eight and freshman eight all captured gold. While the women’s four and third varsity eight, men’s second junior varsity two, first freshman eight, second freshman four and men’s first varsity eight finished with silver.

“The girls in the varsity eight clicked really well, and [it] showed,” Paulin, the coxswain on the women’s varsity eight, said. “We worked hard and had a lot of fun doing it every day, and that makes a difference. We wanted to cap off our fall season on the right note, and for Elizabeth Bratton and I, the seniors on the boat, we really wanted to win our last fall collegiate race.”

Paulin affirmed that because the women’s varsity eight boat couldn’t race the week before at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, they used this break as motivation to push themselves that much harder.

“We were bummed out that we couldn’t race at Head of the Schuylkill, so we made up for it with a win at Frostbite this past weekend,” Paulin said.

Director of Rowing Paul Savell was also very proud and satisfied with the way his team as a whole preformed, and he expressed how important it is for them to finish the fall season on a high note.

“Finishing the fall season with the results we had at the Frostbite Regatta was tremendous,” Savell said. Our entire team raced at a high level, and I was proud of their execution of an improvised race plan.”

Although the team had a successful season, coach Savell was pleasantly surprised by some of his rowers. “The sophomores in the women’s varsity eight really stepped up this season,” Savell said. “They worked hard and did a great job — they have inspired everyone to work just a little bit harder. There should be [some] tough competition [to] get in the top boats this spring.”

The crew team will now turn their attention to the spring season and the coveted Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. Established in 1934, the Dad Vail is arguably one of the most historic and prestigious regattas for college rowing.

“Dad Vails are our focus all year,” Savell said. “We focus on being ‘in the moment’ every race and every practice. We are working to appreciate the process, enjoy the journey and not just the end result.”

The transition from the fall season to the spring season may not be that simple, though. It’s a new season for the Dragons and a level playing field for their competitors.

“You can never really compare the fall to the spring,” Paulin said. “A lot happens over winter training. The boats we rowed in the fall won’t be the exact same boats that [we] row in the spring, and that will be true for all of the other schools we raced as well. We are going to keep working hard every day and come out ready to go in spring and hope that translates to more success.”

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The Drexel crew team will be finishing out their fall season with the Frostbite Regatta on the Schuylkill River. The Dragons have had a strong year overall on the water, finishing first overall at their last regatta.

But the Frostbite Regatta may not live up to its name with weather forecasts predicting sunny skies and a high of 50 degrees on the day of the event, in contrast to horrible weather conditions that the crew team experienced during their previous regatta Oct. 29. Still, the Dragons had a good showing in the rain, snow and sleet, coming away with the men’s and women’s all-around point title.

Even though they performed well Director of Rowing Paul Savell would rather be racing in nicer conditions.

“We’ll race in anything, but nice weather is always better,” Savell said. “There are so many variables that go into racing already. We prefer to have no wind and good weather so conditions do not additionally impact the results of a race.”

The varsity eight events were canceled due to severe weather, so the Drexel varsity eight boat hasn’t competed since Oct. 22. The long layoff from competition may be some cause for concern, but the rowers themselves don’t think so. The varsity eight rowers were disappointed that the events were canceled and are very anxious to show what they’ve got.

“The cancellation of our race last weekend was a disappointment for everyone in the varsity [eight] because the time and commitment we put in over the week in preparation for the race,” senior Randall Lee, co-captain of varsity eight, said. “The [varsity eight], as well as the rest of the team, has gained [a] ton of speed since our last showing at the Head of the Charles.”

Additionally, Lee doesn’t think the varsity eight is at a disadvantage, even though they haven’t raced in a while.

“I do not feel that racing last week has put us a step behind because we’ve continued to train with our end goal in mind, [the] Dad Vail [regatta],” Lee said. “Varsity eight’s mentality is to show the entire country our speed. The cancellation of races obviously prevents us from doing so.”

Savell thinks that because the Frostbite Regatta is a 2000-meter course, everyone is on the same page when it comes to preparation.

“This is our first look at the 2000-meter course this season,” Savell said. “All teams are trying to quickly shift gears and get in practice starts and sprinting for this distance.”

Drexel has made it a tradition to perform well in this regatta — last year they came away with five second-place finishes.

Savell is preaching more than just physical fitness as a key to success for the upcoming regatta.

“Attitude is always the key to success,” Savell said. “If our rowers come out determined and focused, we should see our share of success.”

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The Drexel women’s second varsity eight boat, consisting of Kerry Walsh, Juliana DeMarici, Emily Coyle, Julia Jackson, Megan Bush, Molly Cusack, Samantha Cowan, Alyssa Leahy and bow Asiya Mahmud compete on the river Oct. 29 in the Head of the Schuylkill.

Snow, rain and sleet fell on the Drexel coxswain during their Head of the Schuylkill Regatta Oct. 29. The mighty Dragons braved the weather, coming away with the overall team title for the second year in a row. The crew team was able to race most of their boats except for the first varsity eight due to the inclement weather.

“Saturday was a day none of the rowers will forget,” Director of Rowing Paul Savell said. “Through rain, sleet, snow and freezing temperatures our boats launched ready to race. While the conditions were horrendous, our rowers were focused and ready to prove themselves. There was a lot of very good competition this week. We knew we couldn’t hold anything back.”

The results were good all around with each boat finishing in the top two. The women’s second varsity eight finished first out of 16 with a time of 14:35.72, a full 27 seconds ahead of the second-place boat. The women’s freshman eight took second out of 28 crews clocking in at 15:00.73. The men’s freshman eight finished second out of 40 crews clocking in at 12:47.51. Finally the men’s second varsity eight finished second out of 28 other crews. The second varsity eight finished with a time of 13:02.33, just one second behind the race winner, the University of Virginia, who finished with a time of 13:01.74.

“We had our heads clear and just raced comfortably because when the weather is so bad, you have to relax and not try to overdo things,” senior Kevin Rorabaugh, coxswain of the second varsity eight, said. “Being on our home course is always helpful too.”

Rorabaugh didn’t think the river itself was an issue. He mentioned that the real challenge was the cold weather, rain and snow all in one race.

“Those conditions certainly take a lot of your focus and can mess with your head while rowing, but the sport is all about being consistent no matter what’s happening,” he said.

The weather did play a factor with the scheduling. The men’s and women’s first varsity eights were not able to race because of “severe weather.” They didn’t get a chance to redeem themselves after uncharacteristically finishing 14th and 34th respectively at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass.

“It was good to see our boats row as well as we did,” Savell said. “The rowers from the Boston race did not get [a chance] to compete this weekend because the later races were canceled. Judging from how the rest of the team performed, we were looking forward to a good performance from them as well.”

The Drexel crew team’s next action will be the ironically named Frostbite Regatta Nov. 12 in Philadelphia. Savell likes the way that the team competed during the Head of the Schuylkill, and he thinks it will make the team that much better for the next regatta.

“Overall, I like the progress we have been making as a team,” Savell said. “Winning the men’s point trophy, women’s point trophy and team title at the Head of the Schuylkill was an impressive feat for the team. While we wish the varsity eights could have raced, the boats that did compete raced well.”

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The men’s and women’s crew teams have histories of performing well on the Schuylkill River. After a somewhat disappointing performance at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass., Drexel will. Drexel will be looking forward to the Head of the Schuylkill.

In the men’s regatta, the Dragons grabbed 13th place with a time of 15:54.830. The Lois Krall boat, which included coxswain Randall Lee and stroke Kurt Linton, finished faster in the top half of competing teams, as 40 teams rowed down the river. The Williams College Boat Club rowed away with first place with a time of 15:09.568, finishing more than 10 seconds ahead of runner-up University of Virginia.

It was even more of a challenge for the women of Drexel crew. The team struggled to a 31st-place finish in the regatta out of 37 teams. Finishing the 3-mile course with a time of 17:42.97, the Dragon women finished roughly a minute and a half behind UVA, which saw its women’s team best its men’s second-place finish to take first place at 16:11.519.

Alexandra Paulin coxed the women’s eight, which despite its struggles, did have some positives to take away, considering the competition.

“We placed ahead of Navy, who had beaten us at Navy Day a few weeks ago, so that was good,” Paulin said. “We were behind Penn a little bit than we had been in the past weeks. Overall, we had a really solid race against extremely fast competition.”

The women’s, and men’s teams will look on getting back ahead of University City rival University of Pennsylvania this weekend at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta Oct. 29. Fortunately for Drexel, their familiarity of the river they are competing in will return. Last weekend’s regatta in Boston was their final road event of the fall. They will row in the Schuylkill for the three remaining regattas of the fall season. There’s comfort in that fact for Drexel, although maybe for some of their opponents as well.

“We are more comfortable competing on the Schuylkill,” Paulin explained. “The familiarity has a huge impact because my teammates know exactly where they are on the course and how many meters they have left to row. As a coxswain, I have 110-percent faith in my course on the Schuylkill, but you also have to consider that Penn, St. Joseph’s, Temple and La Salle all call the Schuylkill home as well.”

Regardless of who calls which river home, there is some comfort in knowing the team feels comfortable in their competing venue. It could be the key to a successful regatta.

“The biggest key for our varsity eight boat to have a successful regatta is to have confidence, row as best as we know we can, and hopefully pass some people along the way,” Paulin said.

Their confidence can go a long way — hopefully rowing faster than all other teams as they row their long way through the Schuylkill.

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Conor Brophy The Triangle The Drexel women’s crew team had a spectacular day on the Schuylkill river Oct. 8 as they piled up one third place finish in addition to two second place finishes. Third palce place went to the women’s varsity eight, with the second places going to the novice and second boats.

Seeing as this was Drexel’s first race on its “home turf,” Director of Rowing and Men’s and Women’s head coach Paul Savell had only positive things to say about his team’s performance.

“It was good to see most of our boats finish near the top at the Navy Day Regatta,” Savell said.
“We have been stressing on picking up momentum in the second half of the race and negative splitting. This is an area we hope to improve over the next few races.”

Of the boats that placed, the women had one third-place finish and two second-place results.

The novice eight had a very promising race for the women, earning one of their second-place accolades with a time of 14:44.37, just behind the University of Pennsylvania, who snagged first with a time of 14:21.08. Coxing their boat was freshman Catherine Hamilton, who helped her boat soar past seven other competitors.

The results for the women’s second varsity eight were reminiscent of the novice race. The women who rowed in the John A. Daskalakis boat also took second place, again just behind UPenn with a time of 14:23.64.

The women’s varsity eight wrapped up the women’s races with a third-place finish of 14:34:48. The Marlene Buckley boat missed second place by five seconds to UPenn and was denied first by Navy, who finished with a time of 14:23:81.

On the men’s side, the Dragons accumulated two fifth-place finishes along with one second-place finish.

The novice eight had a successful showing and earned the highest finish of the day for Drexel men’s crew. They earned second place with a time of 12:32:25, falling to Navy by 14 seconds.

The men’s second varsity boat, which rowed in the Annette Pennoni boat, followed with a fifth-place finish behind three Navy boats and one UPenn boat.

The Vince Vidas boat, otherwise known as the men’s varsity eight, finished the day by placing fifth in their race. Although the boat fell to two Navy boats, one Penn boat and one Temple boat, overall they beat out 17 other competitors.

With the Head of the Charles Regatta coming up Oct. 22 in Boston, Mass., the Dragons are hoping to have a successful showing.

On the men’s side, Savell hopes his team will match or surpass their seventh-place finish from last year. For the women, he knows the competition level is high. With his young team he knows that they need to bring all they’ve got to the race.

“The women will see some of the best competition in the country along with some international crews participating in the race,” Savell commented. “With a young boat, it will be important for everyone to settle and row with poise and confidence. The course is packed with spectators for three-and-a-half miles, and with Boston’s windy conditions, things can get hectic.”

Even though the Head of the Charles is top priority right now, the team is keeping the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in the back of its mind.

“The two races are only a week apart, so performing well at the Head of the Charles should help build confidence and momentum for the Head of the Schuylkill,” Savell said.

Thus far in the fall season both the men and women have had very solid showings. With the competition heating up in the final races, the Dragons will have the opportunity to show what they are really capable of accomplishing.

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“It was great to see the freshmen perform the way they did,” Head Coach Paul Savell said. “They have been really strong all year and they continue to prove that we have a bright future at Drexel.”

The Men’s Varsity and Second Eight both finished fifth in their races in a very competitive field of top boats — the varsity boat crossed the finish line at 12:45.12 behind two Navy boats, a Temple boat and UPenn boat, while the second eight clocked in at 12:49.57 behind three navy boats and one UPenn boat. The Navy Day Regatta was the first big race of the year for the team after a strong opening race at the Rumson Boat Race. The Varsity Eight was coxed by Randall Lee and included Aleksandar Radovic, Lorenzo Albala, Kurt Linton, Vanja Busic, Michael Faust, Brian Timlin, Sebastian Ryan and Patrick McGann.

“We can still get a lot faster, and we will get a lot faster as the year goes on,” Savell explained. “We continue to work hard and have had high tempo practices to try to improve our speed. We will tone it down a bit before the next race, but our speed will get better.”

The Women’s Varsity Eight, coxed by Kerry Walsh, included Julia Jackson, Emily Coyle, Juliana DeMarici, Alexa Antonioli, Elizabeth Bratton, Megan Bush, Mollie Cusack and bow Samantha Cowan, had a strong third-place finish at 14:34.38, behind only Navy and UPenn.

“The women were great last weekend,” Savell said. “I was really excited to see how well they performed and how much speed they showed.”

The Women’s Scond Eight also finished well with a second-place finish behind UPenn at 14:23.64. The advantage this team has is the extreme depth they have displayed. All three boats on both the men’s and women’s sides are very fast and constantly challenge each other.

“We have such great depth on the roster, and it is cool to watch unfold in practice,” Savell said. “The Second Eight will challenge the Varsity Eight and try to take seats on the boat. The competition is great because we can switch spots on the boat at any time, and everyone wants a seat on the varsity boat.”

The team has been trying to improve its late speed in the race and the finishes of their races.

The coach is confident they will do so and that they will have a strong fall leading into the competitive spring season.

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The Drexel crew swept their first races at the Rumson Beat Race. winning three of the events. The team is set to host the Navy Day Regatta Oct.8 on the Schuylkill river, and hope to replicate their early success.

Now they have their eyes set on another dominating performance. They have begun preparation for The Navy Day Regatta Oct. 8.

“We are currently in the ‘load’ cycle of our training,” Head Coach Paul Savell said. “We have almost reached maximum volume in practice training miles. The team does a three-mile warm-up run, followed by 12 miles of rowing.”

Last year at The Navy Day Regatta, the crew team competed in nine races, finishing in the top five four times.

Even after the impressive finish at Rumson, Savell is staying the course with the training of his rowers.

“From a coaching standpoint, we are still creating different combinations of rowers to see who works the best together,” Savell said. “Last week’s sweep at the Rumson Boat Race was such a great start for us. Everyone is focused on working hard and keeping the momentum. The competition has been strong at practice and should translate well on race day.”

The senior coxswains have been taking the leadership role to mentor the new rowers this season.

“[They] have been great leaders for us and help maintain focus throughout the team,” Savell said. “Kurt Linton, Pat McGann and Aleksander Radovic have the men’s team practicing with a purpose each day. Liz Bratton and Julia Jackson, just to mention a few, keep the women’s team training at a high level this season.”

That high level of training and intensity is how champions are made. But it’s that leadership that will be tested during the long hours of rowing in the next regatta. Pushing the other coxswains and staying the course are what the leaders will be preaching.

When asked about the advantage of having the regatta on the Schuylkill, Savell confirmed the assumption.

“We love racing on the Schuylkill,” Savell said. “It’s a big boost for us to have family, friends, students and staff all come out and watch the races at the boathouse. It creates such a great atmosphere.

“On the Schuylkill, we know all the landmarks like the back of our hands. We know where we need to make our strategic moves and how tight our coxswains can make their turns on our home water.”

Expectations are sky-high going into this race, and rightfully so. We have come to expect these kinds of performances out of a perennial winner. This team’s new talent is already showing, and who knows how far they can go if they keep up the good work?

We’ll just have to wait patiently.

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Beads of sweat dripping down the coxswain’s face, oars splashing violently in and out of the water, boats neck-and-neck in a sprint for the finish line — and in the end one team prevails: the Dragons.

The Drexel men’s and women’s crew teams stroked their way to a victorious season opener on the Navesink River in Rumson, N.J. Sept. 24. The Dragons took home a total of three first place medals and defeated Army, Rutgers and Villanova in the process.

Even with a successful start, Paul Savell, the Director of rowing, says his team needs to acknowledge the win, and then focus on the future.

“It is nice, but it’s too early in the season to focus on,” Savell said. “We have the Head of the Charles Regatta and Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in our sights for the fall and, of course, our training is always focused on the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta held in May.”

The Drexel crew team emerged victorious from the Rumson Boat Race Sept. 24 as they earned a combined three gold medals.

Last year, the crew team sent five boats to the finals at the Dad Vail. This was a record-tying accomplishment. And to top it off, the men took home gold and silver medals. Needless to say, coming off of two huge back-to-back years for the program, the team has put forth a lot of time and energy into making this year a success.

“Many of our athletes cross train during the summer which is great for variety and injury prevention,” Savell said. “Early in the fall season, we try to get in as many miles as we can, in order to get everyone into rowing shape and capable of serous training for a two hour period.“

It appears as though their training has paid off thus far. The women’s and men’s varsity eights, as well as the women’s second varsity eight finished the Rumson Boat Race in first place.

The women’s varsity eight, who occupied the Marlene Buckley boat, consisted of Alex Paulin, Julia Jackson, Colleen Delaney, Juliana DeMarici, Megan Bush , Kayla Wroblesky , Emily Coyle, Elizabeth Bratton and Asiya Mahmud. The boat finished with a time of 6:22.7, beating Army’s time of 6:26:9 and a Villanova boat that finished with 6:35:3.

The men’s varsity eight followed the women’s lead, and swept the competition with a time of 5:33:97. Their boat, the Vince Vidas boat, consisted of Randall Lee, Kurt Linton, Vanja Busic, Michael Faust, Lorenzo Albala, Aleksandar Randovic, Matthew Ryan, Sebastian Ryan and Patrick McGann. Their competitors, Army, Rutgers and Villanova, finished four seconds or more behind the Dragons.

Finally, the last of the winning boats was the women’s second varsity eight in the John A. Daskalakis boat. The ladies were Caitlin Meehan, Amanda O’Malley, Elizabeth Daugherty, Mollie Cusack, Samantha Cowan, Jackie Bender, Alyssa Leahy, Jillian Skovran and Kathy Cheng. The boat defeated Villanova by a dominating 15 seconds.

A lot of the credit for the team’s early success goes to the oarsmen’s hard work and to strong leadership.

“We have some exceptional leaders this year,” Savell said. “Our men’s captains are Randall Lee, Kurt Linton and Brian Timlin. Our captains for the women’s team are Julia Jackson, Alex Paulin and Liz Bratton. Even with a talented team, the captains have the challenge of keeping everyone one the same page and focused on the same goals. They help build the cohesiveness and trust among the team.”

With the captains’ leadership, this is one of the strongest Drexel teams to date. With a mix of returning players and novice additions, the crew is ready to make this the best season.

“Last spring season was successful, but everyone wants more,” Savell said. “This team is aware of what they are capable of this year and that has brought a sense of excitement and anticipation to the start of training.”

Let’s hope that excitement translates into wins for the remainder of the season. The next regatta that the crew team needs to prepare for is the Navy Day Regatta Oct. 8 on the Schuylkill.

As Savell says, “[The crew] will face some of the fastest teams in the region. This will be [their] first major test to see where [they] measure up.”

This is a test that the Dragons have studied hard for, and will no doubt, ace.

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The women’s crew team took to the water during the 2010-11 season. Last year the ladies finished on top, and hope to have a repeat performance this year. The team is set to kick off the fall season at the Rumson Boat Race Sept. 24 in Rumson, NJ.

Preseason for the 2011 fall session has begun for the eager rowers of Drexel women’s crew. All of the women’s boats finished with impressive results over the past spring season, ending on the Schuylkill River for the annual Dad Vail Regatta. Paul Savell, head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams, is getting the rowers physically and mentally prepared for the Rumson Boat Race this weekend in Rumson, N.J.

The Dragons have already been vigorously training on the river for the past few weeks. Savell said that during the fall, both teams focus a lot on fitness and getting into rowing shape after the two months off. Fortunately some of the athletes cross-train over the summer, which is great for variety and injury prevention. However, this does not help them get back into specific rowing endurance.

“Early in the fall season, we try to get in as many miles as we can to get everyone into rowing shape and capable of serious training for a two-hour period,” he said.

Last fall, the women sealed their successful season here in Philadelphia with the Bill Braxton Regatta. According to drexeldragons.com, the Women’s Varsity Eight A earned Drexel their first first-place finish. The boat recorded a time of 5:15.23, which prevailed over Rochester, Lehigh and Haverford. The Varsity Eight B earned a third first-place finish, clocking in at 5:20.25.

Savell mentioned that the team’s main focus during fall training is long, steady state workouts for the body of their races.

“We move a lot of different combinations around from boat to boat to see who matches up well with each other,” he said. “As the season progresses, we work on finessing the first and last sections of our race.”

With practices continuing smoothly, he continued to say that the lineups have become more concrete as they try to maximize their boat speed. When everyone moves together at the same steady boat speed, team chemistry is successfully achieved.

After the fall season wrapped up last year, the Dragons were ready to get back on the water and compete for their primary spring session. The women fell short of winning any first-place finishes in their first weekend on the water against St. Joseph’s and Delaware. However, they came back strong against Villanova and La Salle when welcoming them to the Schuylkill the following weekend.

The Women’s Varsity Eight boat dominated La Salle and Villanova, clocking in with a time of 6:36.99. The second and third Varsity Eight boats also overpowered their competitors by coming out on top. The Freshman Eight boat finished second, shortly behind Villanova at 6:46.90.

Savell mentioned some of the evident improvements the ladies displayed during last year’s spring season. The younger members on each of the boats really picked up the intensity to help clinch record times.

“Our underclassmen really came on strong at the end of last year and really increased the level of competition within the team,” Savell said.

In addition, one of the team’s biggest achievements during the spring season was their Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta Chairman’s Trophy, awarded in May. Drexeldragons.com stated that the trophy was given to these talented athletes due to their recognizable victory in the Elite Eight Championship. The women clinched the Sports Council Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in June 2010 in Henley-on-Thames, England.

Drexeldragons.com took note of the immense pride in what Gary Marshall, Aberdeen’s chief executive, had to say.

“To be the best in the world, like the Drexel women’s crew, it takes hard work and determination, and we are proud to recognize such success,” he said. “We hope that this award today will inspire Drexel and others to similar success this year.”

He continued with saying how this award emphasized the high-pressure status of a race like the Dad Vail Regatta, comparing it to a world-class sporting event.

“At the Henley Women’s Regatta there is no second, no bronze medal, just knockout competition to find out the simple truth — who is the fastest? In 2010 it was Drexel,” Marshall said.

A different type of honor was awarded to junior Elizabeth Bratton, who was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Women’s Rowing Scholar Athlete of the Year. The health-sciences major maintained a cumulative grade point average higher than 3.25 and also earned All-CAA honors in the stroke seat of the Varsity Eight boat.

Bratton and the rest of the team are welcoming new Dragons to the water this fall. Savell said that the freshman squad looks great on paper, and really has to work hard to live up to the past freshman classes who came in with great intensity.

“We have a great mix of experienced recruits with some real athletic walk-ons that should see some success,” Savell said.

This weekend the ladies will get back into their routine of dominating on the water. The Dragons are ready for some high-pressure races to get the season started off at a high level.

“This team is aware of what they are capable of this year and that has brought a sense of excitement and anticipation to the start of training,” Savell said in closing.

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The men’s crew team finished the 2010-11 season with more than seven top-five finishes in the fall season alone. This year they hope to exceed previous records and come out on top. They join the women’s team for the first regatta of the season Sept. 24 in Rumson, NJ.

Fall is here and so that means rowing is here, and the Drexel men’s crew team is gearing up for another memorable season. Drexel has dominated on the water for the past two years, and they don’t show any signs of slowing down.

The Dragons sport four home races here on the Schuylkill River, which will no doubt be to their advantage. The remaining two regattas are scheduled to be in Rumson N.J., and Boston, Mass.

In the spring, Drexel Crew sent a record-tying five boats to the finals in the historic Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. The men brought home gold and silver medals in that regatta to add to an extremely successful spring season.

The Dragons have 33 returning rowers, three of which earned the Philadelphia Inquirer’s All Academic Honors. Sophomore Lorenzo Albala, junior Randall Lee, and senior Jacob Sloan were selected by collegiate sports offices across the Philadelphia area.

But a new school year and a new season means new faces, both friends and teammates. The veteran Dragons will have 19 freshmen to get to know and develop a rapport with. It’s always a tough process though. Letting seniors that you look up to go, and suddenly switching roles, you become the mentor, the one that is looked up to.

Last year the men had over seven top-five finishes during the fall season, but they only had 12 new faces coming in last season. They also had 10 seniors last year, the same number they have this season.

Last year’s freshmen, the current sophomores, had the benefit of rowing on a dominant squad. They will have to take the roles of leaders now, because they know what it takes to be a winner.

The Dragons will be looking to start their season off right as they prepare to compete in the Rumson Boat Race Sept. 24 in Rumson, N.J.

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The Drexel women’s crew varsity eight boat, pictured above, is one of many premiere athletic teams at Drexel. The men’s and women’s crew program as a whole has outperformed competitors consistently over the past three seasons, including their stronghold on the local, yet renowned, Dad Vail Regatta.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JULIA FISHER — ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

So, college — not too sure what to expect, right?

Well, read on and you shall find yourself enlightened at the culmination of this ever-so informative piece.

Your college experience will begin as follows: you will make your way onto campus via some sort of transportation, most likely mom and dad’s family car. Next they will move you in, embarrass you a bit in front of your soon-to-be close friends, and after a few laps around campus and a fully stocked mini-fridge, they will eventually leave you on your own as you begin your journey at your new institution. Now, obviously the point of coming to Drexel is for you to get an education and leave as a distinguished graduate, but there is no reason you can’t have fun while you’re here.

We are here to help and guide you in that regard. The following is our extremely opinionated guide to our very own Drexel athletics.

First things first, we see that you have noticed a gaping flaw in our fine institutions athletics program: where’s the football? Well the easiest way to put it is that we have been undefeated since 1973, back when we were Drexel Tech.

No worries though, as there are many other fine athletic competitions you can attend.

In the fall, we suggest attending a field hockey game. Now we know that doesn’t come off as sounding as thrilling as a Notre Dame football game, but here at Drexel we love our field hockey, especially the recently graduated two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, Christina Mastropaolo. The Dragons have finished the season ranked inside the nation’s Top 20 each of the past three seasons, including their exciting trip to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament two seasons ago, when they finished the season ranked tenth.

We also suggest attending a men’s or women’s soccer game. Both programs are filled with budding stars waiting to break out and have a big season. Other fall sports to choose from are golf, tennis, crew and squash. Crew and squash specifically should catch your eye because crew has absolutely dominated in NCAA competition for the last two years and is bound to do so once again, including one of the largest races in the nation right here on the Schuylkill. As for squash, this will be the program’s first year of Division I competition, while Drexel itself will also play host to the 2011 U.S. Open Squash Championships.

In the winter comes Dragon fans’ slam dunk attraction, men’s and women’s basketball. One thing every student should do before graduation is travel to neighboring UPenn for a Drexel-UPenn basketball game, because there is no atmosphere better than the one at the Palestra as the Dragons run up and down the court against the Quakers. Also, after one of the largest wins in school history over Louisville in Kentucky last year, the Dragons are poised to make a postseason run this year, so you want to make sure you go to as many games as you can. With an extremely young and talented roster, Dragons everywhere are crossing their fingers for a trip to the Big Dance for the first time since Malik Rose took them there in 1996.

But hey, the women are no slouches either, with their most recent NCAA tournament invite coming in the 2008-09 season. The Dragons have finished in the top five in the CAA the last four seasons, competing in postseason play in two of them as well. Kamile Nacickaite will be a player to look out for as she hopes to lead her team to the postseason. Women’s basketball is another can’t-miss sporting event this winter.

Also, for basketball in general, students MUST make sure they attend at least one home game against Delaware University – now that is a true college rivalry. Regardless of whether or not the Blue Hens are visiting, the DAC Pack will always represent our university with pride and enthusiasm. You will be able to spot the blue and gold from miles away — not to mention you will certainly be able to hear them cheering on our Dragons and booing any opposing team.

Also on our list of winter sports are  wrestling, swimming and diving. The wrestling team is heading into its first season of the post-Jack Childs era, the winning coach in NCAA history, and will be leaning on third-year star captain Joe Booth, the only member of the program to wrestle in the NCAA tournament that took place at the Wells Fargo Center in March.

You can also take a splash into the swimming and diving program. These aquatic mavens have a handful of young up-and-comers that are sure to make their marks on CAA and NCAA competition. I mean come on, who doesn’t want to go to a pool in the middle of winter? It will amp you up, and get you ready for the spring.

In the spring there is another program that has been lauded by Drexel fans of late, and that is the men’s lacrosse team. They have earned berths into the CAA tournament five years in a row and have been ranked among the top teams in the nation consistently over the last few years. Their most powerful win in recent memory was an overtime victory at home against Notre Dame, a perennial powerhouse. The Dragons will be heading into the season without the nation’s second leading scorer in 2011 in last season’s CAA Player of the Year, Scott Perri. Much of the burden will fall on Robert Church, the Dragons’ second leading scorer last season as a sophomore. Also in line to lead the program will be senior goaltender Mark Manos, who happens to be the 2010 CAA Defensive Player of the Year.

And let’s not forget the women’s lacrosse team. They qualified for the CAA tournament last season for the first time in program history and will look to follow attackers Charlotte Wood, a member of last year’s Tewaaraton Award watch list, and Alyse Maiden, team’s second leading scorer behind Wood.

Guard Gerald Colds had his best season as the lone senior on the 2010-11 men’s basketball team, averaging 9.7 points per game and playing a team-high 32.3 minutes per game His 9.7 points per game were good for third on the team in scoring, behind Samme Givens (12.2) and Chris Fouch (14.9).

Also in the spring will be some of the fall teams one again in crew, golf and tennis. One of our returning tennis players that you should look out for is Nikoloz Kurdadze — he is an ace on the court and a leader off – and the tennis team will certainly make a slam on the Drexel program this year.

And wait, did we mention that when you attend these games,  you will be accompanied by Drexel’s most devoted fan, Calvin? If you aren’t already pumped up, he will be sure to raise your level of enthusiasm and make the sporting events truly unforgettable.

And let’s not forget, if you decide that you would rather be in the action than sitting in the stands, we have a list of club teams you can join. Ranging from karate to our first class hockey teams to our rough and tough rugby players — there’s no reason why you can’t be involved with Drexel athletics.

We hope this helps guide you on your journey as a Drexel Dragon — and we can’t wait to see all of you at the sporting events. Either at the DAC or somewhere as far off as say, the Virgin Islands for a preseason basketball tournament … you’ll have to look into it.

The post The freshman’s guide to Drexel Dragon athletics appeared first on The Triangle.

Drexel sophmore attackman Nick Trizano and Robert Church play offence against Delaware

Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team

The Philadelphia Inquirer has chosen to honor seven different Drexel student-athletes by naming them to the Academic All-Area Team. These student-athletes were able to maintain a 3.2 grade-point average while also excelling on the field, court or in the water.

The athletes honored were rowers Lorenzo Albala, Randall Lee and Jacob Sloan; pitcher Hillary Allen and catcher Paige Collings from the softball team; tennis star Nikoloz Kurdadze; and attackman Robert Church from the men’s lacrosse team.

Rowing

The Drexel women’s varsity eight boat stroke, junior Elizabeth Bratton, has been named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Women’s Rowing Scholar Athlete of the Year. After placing fourth at the CAA Championships and second in the consolation finals at the Dad Vail Regatta, she earned All-CAA honors as well.

Women’s Basketball

As previously reported, the Drexel women’s basketball team will be participating in the preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament. The Dragons will open their season as host to Long Island University Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at the DAC.

If the Dragons win the game, they will take on the winner of the Manhattan at Hartford game. Other teams in the Preseason WNIT are national powers Baylor and Notre Dame along with Akron, Chattanooga, Detroit, ETSU, Howard, Indiana State, McNeese State, Tennessee Tech and the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Before beginning their season at the DAC in Philadelphia, the women will travel overseas for an early start to their season in Italy. They will play four games in Rome and Florence. \ The Dragons had previously traveled to Spain for the same type of preseason trip in 2007.

Wrestling

New Drexel wrestling head coach Matt Azevedo has made his first two hires for his staff. Azevedo has hired Zack Sheaffer and Todd Schavrien as his assistant coaches.

Sheaffer was most recently the assistant coach and interim head coach at Clarion University. Before that, he was an assistant at Limestone College. He is also a former heavyweight All-American as an undergrad at Pittsburgh.

Shavrien recently graduated from the University of Missouri. He was the 141-pound Big 12 champion in 2011, along with earning All-American status.

Field Hockey

Drexel head field hockey coach Denise Zelenak served as the New Jersey High Performance team head coach at the Junior Women’s National Championships. Zelenak led her team to its first ever championship title. Her team won 4-0-1 in the tournament, and they were helped to that record by incoming Drexel freshmen Christina Conrad and Meghan Plank.

The post Seven athletes named Academic All-area team appeared first on The Triangle.

Crew

The LeBow College of Business Boat has been sent to represent Drexel at the 109th Annual Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. The event began June 2 on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

The boat is the men’s varsity four and will consist of junior coxswain Randall Lee, freshman stroke Vanja Busic, sophomore Lorenzo Albala, freshman Sebastian Ryan and senior bow Kyle Fabel.

[/media-credit] The Drexel men’s crew varsity four boat (above) will be on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., June 3 for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships’ semi-finals.”]

[media-credit name="Ajon Brodie" align="alignleft" width="300"

Women’s Lacrosse

The Drexel women’s lacrosse team’s leading scorer and Tewaaraton Award nominee, junior attacker Charlotte Wood, has been named to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Division I All-Region Team as a member of the Mid-Atlantic Second Team.

The junior led the Dragons with 52 points and was also named as a member of the All-CAA Second Team.

Now that she has been named to an IWLCA All-Region Team, Wood is eligible to be nominated for any of the IWLCA All-American Teams.

Field Hockey

Two members of the Drexel field hockey team were also members of the New Jersey High Performance Field Hockey Team. Senior midfielder Kim Tunell and sophomore midfielder Amanda Fleischut led their team to its third consecutive USA Field Hockey Senior Women’s National Championship.

The game was held at American University’s field and New Jersey defeated the South High Performance Team 3-2 in overtime to take the title.

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The varsity eight boat of the Drexel women’s crew team made it all the way to the second finals after advancing through the semi-finals of the 2011 Dad Vail Regatta. The boat also just missed out on a grand finale.

As an outsider it’s hard to understand why rowers put their bodies and minds through such a grueling process. The only way to understand the mind of a rower is to become one — so that’s what I did. What better time to row than at the crème-de-la-crème of rowing — the Dad Vail.

Since I am not a collegiate rower, there was only one way I could partake in the races — to row in the corporate challenge. My mother’s company, Hope Paige Designs, entered a novice eight into the race — and lo and behold, we won our heat.

I can honestly say I get it now.

Winning was a perk, but the experience was unexplainable. Rowing in tandem with seven other people takes teamwork and dedication. There’s something to be said about training year-round for a race that only lasts about five minutes.

But racing in the Dad Vail made me wonder: what comes next? What happens if you leave your heart on the water and then you lose? When I spoke with a former Princeton rower, I asked him that very question — he laughed at me and said, “There will always be winners and losers in sports, It’s how the losing team bounces back that truly defines their success.”

Over 400 boats raced on the Schuylkill that Saturday, and only 71 of them won. That means that more than three-fourths of the competition lost, and yet the colleges — winners and losers alike — come back each year to do it all over again.

Drexel is one of those teams that never gives up. Last year at the 2010 Dad Vail, the Dragons medaled at the race for the first time since 2005 and earned a pair of gold medals from the men’s varsity pair and the men’s second varsity eight. They also took silver in the men’s freshman eight, and earned third in the women’s varsity eight. Needless to say, the team had high expectations leading up to the 2011 Dad Vail.

The Dragons sent five boats into the grand finals at the 2011 races — two of which came away with medals. Veteran varsity pair, gold medalists Liam O’Neill and Peter Schmidt, came in first and earned the Bob Negaard Trophy with the 7:17.70 time.

The men’s novice eight, which consists of coxswain Marc Smith, stroke John Pieper, Vanja Busic, Sebastian Ryan, Marcus DeMarici, Ryan McSpedon, Steven Miner, Matthew Ryan and bow Ross Morris, took home the silver for the Dragons.

The director of the Dad Vail and Chairman of the Gold Cup, Hebert Lotman, said that the crews’ hard work came across in more ways than one.

“In the three years I have been involved, this year has been by far the best,” Lotman said. “Everyone I have spoken to said it was one of the best regatta events they have ever seen on the Schuylkill River — and they couldn’t believe the amount of TV exposure we had — no other rowing event has been broadcasted across the United States like we were.”

The Dad Vail was televised on 6ABC and ESPN3. The ratings and responses from this year’s event have been higher than any in the past. And for those who actually attended the Dad Vail, there was no shortage of tents, food and of course, Port-O-Potties!

Though accommodations were quite the hype, the real center of attention was the Gold Cup races.

The Gold Cup is the Stanley Cup of rowing. It has returned to the Dad Vail for the first time in nearly 50 years and is awarded to the top male and female international single sculling winner.

“1966 was the last inscription on the Gold Cup and now they will have a man, and the first woman ever, inscribed on the Gold Cup,” Lotman stated. “And I really enjoyed watching the international rowers compete — the four men and four ladies competing for their names on the Cup were outstanding.”

For an oarsman or woman to have his or her name engraved on the Gold Cup instantly makes them rowing royalty. For the fortunate attendees and viewers of the Dad Vail, they witnessed history when the Czech Republic’s Mirka Knapkova won on the women’s side, and Slovenia’s Iztok Cop won on the men’s.

The Dad Vail seemed to make a splash not only in the rowing community, but also in hearts of sports fans nationwide.

As far as plans for next year’s races, Lotman said, “We are certainly going to try to improve what we are doing and have it larger, bigger and better.”

The Dad Vail marks an important day for rowers nationwide. For crews that won medals, congratulations. For crews that lost, well, there’s always next year.

As for Drexel, they will take the momentum they’ve gained by winning two medals at the Dad Vail Regatta and use it on the water for their next regatta June 2-4 on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., for the IRA National Championship.

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Drexel men's lacrosse junior midfielder Kyle Bergman attempts to get past Villanova defender during the Dragons' 13-14 loss at Vidas Field March 1.

The announcement came May 12 when the NSCA released the list of the 247 All-American players recognized for their exceptional work as part of strength and conditioning training. The list includes collegiate and high school athletes from all over the country, representing 96 schools. The NSCA gives the annual awards to “those collegiate and high school athletes whose athletic accomplishments, in the opinion of their strength coach, reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning.”

Mike Rankin, director of strength and conditioning at Drexel, is a certified NSCA Personnel Trainer. As a member of the NSCA, he nominated Clawson and Bergman for their hard work in the gym that he witnessed from them this year.

Rankin surprised Clawson when he initially notified her of the recognition. A senior and member of the women’s crew varsity eight, Clawson was the only member of a crew team to be named an NSCA All-American in the entire country. She has worked hard and sees it as a “big accomplishment” for herself.

“I guess it validates all the time I spent in the weight room,” Clawson said. “It’s nice to know I work as hard as top athletes around the country.”

For Bergman, a junior, the award also came as a surprise. He recently completed his fourth season as a member of the Drexel men’s lacrosse team. Bergman was one of the seven lacrosse players to be listed nation-wide for the award. He understands the gravity of the award’s meaning and plans to keep working hard in wake of the recognition.

“Now I can’t take any days off,” he said. “It’s like, now it’s this level, you get this award, and now people expect you to bring it every day. So obviously, I guess I was doing something right before, so I’m going to keep doing what I do — work hard.”

Clawson stated that her team was full of great athletes. Bergman also spoke about his teammates, pointing out that he does the same workouts as his teammates.

“Every kid on my team does the same things I do, so it says a lot about my team too and the atmosphere that I come from everyday,” Bergman said. “It’s always been the mantra of our team to work hard.”

Although they come from two different sports, both Clawson and Bergman agree on the importance of hard work and how it leads to success, not just in sports.

“It’s very important to train hard,” Clawson said. “Your natural ability will only take you so far.”

Bergman also discussed some of the other potential benefits of working hard in his sport.

“It’s really important, because the work that I’ve put in — and my parents told me that — you work hard in sports, and it’s correlated to everything else you do in life,” Bergman explained. “You work hard in the workplace, and you work hard in school.”

Bergman also pointed out what the recognition says about the entire program at Drexel. All of the athletic programs at Drexel benefit greatly from the effort put in by Rankin.

“To be recognized nationally, it says a lot about my program and about Coach Rankin and what he does here too,” Bergman said.

Having two athletes of different genders from two different sports recognized for training highlights Rankin’s work. As strength and conditioning director for the entire athletic department at Drexel, all teams benefit from his support. With this continued guidance, it may not be long until another Dragon athlete is recognized for their dedication to strength and conditioning in the near future.

The post NCSA names two appeared first on The Triangle.