The Bucknell Men’s Squad was split the weekend of April 13-14 between the Varsity 8+ racing at the San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay, San Diego and the 2nd and 3rd Varsity 8+’s competing against Drexel University and Mercyhurst on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Bison Varsity 8+ overcame an early deficit to overcome UCLA to win their Semi-Final with a finishing time of 6:04.25 ahead of UCLA (6:05.30) and UCSD (6:06.10) – posting the fastest time of the event and placing them in lane 3 for the Grand Final on Sunday.
The final was sure to be filled with tight racing and did not disappoint – the Bucknell Varsity overcame a slow start which left them in 6th after the first 250m, then proceeded to work through the field in the middle 1500m, leaving them 3 seats from leader UCSB entering the last 250m. The effort of climbing back within striking distance of the lead proved too much as UCSB was able to pull away for the win with a time of 6:06.33 and the Bison men following with a time of 6:09.26 – holding off a late charge from Orange Coast College who finished 3rd with a time of 6:09.42.
While the Bucknell Varsity was enjoying the sunny west coast weather, the Bison 2V and 3V were greeted with clear, cool and blustery conditions on the Schuylkill for the their matchup against Drexel and Mercyhurst.
The first race of the day was between the Bucknell 3rd Varsity 8+ against the Drexel Freshman 8+. The race was tightly contested through the first 1000m, until the Murphy Cup Champions from Drexel began to break contact and cruise to victory with Bucknell placing 2nd with a time of 6:19.3 and Mercyhurst trailing in 3rd in 6:53.3.
The second and final race of the day was between the 2V8+’s which also featured tight competition in the first half of the race, until the Drexel 2V began to pull clear of the field for the win. The Bison 2V followed in 2nd with a time of 6:19.5.
The Bison Men will be competing the weekend of April 13-14 in the Knecht Cup Regatta hosted by Villanova University on the Cooper River in Camden, Nj.