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.