Bucknell took to the Kerr Cup last weekend where it lined up against some of the fastest programs it would see all year. This strong field was headlined by Yale and George Washington, the fastest varsity and club teams respectively. Advancing to the grand final would be a challenge and the Bucknell Men were excited to see how close they could get.
The 1v threw down a blistering pace for the first half of its heat. At the halfway point, Bucknell found itself deadlocked with SJU for second place. Both boats still had contact with each other entering the final 500, but once SJU shifted up, Bucknell could not match its speed. Ultimately SJU grabbed second place, meaning Bucknell would race in the petite final later that afternoon.
The petite final proved to be a two-horse race from the start with Bucknell and Rutgers trading seats down the entire course. Entering the final 90 seconds, Bucknell held onto a slim two seat advantage. Much like the morning, however, the crew failed to reach a higher gear to break away from its opponent. In the end, Bucknell lost a heartbreaker to Rutgers by just one second.
Coming off a bronze medal at the Knecht Cup, the 2v knew it would be competitive among a strong field and was eager to showcase that speed in the grand final, but it would have to qualify through the heat first. With 250m remaining in the heat, MIT sat a half of a length up on Bucknell. As time dwindled, Bucknell made a last-second surge to close on MIT but fell short by a couple seats. Just outside the top three, the 2v solidified itself in the petite final which it easily won later that day.
As the lone club boat in the grand final, the 3v held on for as long as it could, but finished behind Drexel, SJU, Temple and MIT. The 4+ faced a similar predicament in its heat and failed to advance to the grand final. Steady improvements were made for several novice rowers nonetheless.
Next weekend Bucknell will travel to New Brunswick, NJ where it will have another shot at Rutgers and Delaware – two teams bound to impress at this year’s ACRA National Championship.
Varsity 8+ – HEAT (top 2 to GF)
Drexel – 6:18.9
St. Joe’s – 6:24.1
Bucknell – 6:31.2
Loyola – 7:41.8
Varsity 8+ – PETITE FINAL
Rutgers – 6:34.9
Bucknell – 6:36.0
Washington College – 6:47.4
Lehigh – 6:49.3
St. Mary – 7:40.6
Franklin & Marshall – 8:06.1
2nd Varsity 8+ – HEAT (top 3 to GF)
Yale – 6:21.9
GW – 6:32.4
MIT – 6:36.8
Bucknell – 6:38.7
Loyola – 8:26.6
2nd Varsity 8+ – PETITE FINAL
Bucknell – 6:40.6
Rutgers – 7:09.0
Loyola – 8:38.5
3RD Varsity 8+ – GRAND FINAL
Drexel – 6:31.0
St. Joe’s – 6:35.1
Temple – 6:39.6
MIT – 6:41.1
Bucknell – 7:02.7
4+ – HEAT
Drexel – 7:36.0
Lehigh – 7:46.7
SJU – 7:50.5
GW – 8:04.4
Bucknell – 8:39.6
Lineups:
1st Varsity 8 – Class of 2020
Coxswain: Izzy Mersky, So.
Stroke: Phil Onffroy, Sr.
7: Andrew Viola, So.
6: Zach Gerhardt, So.
5: Conor McNichols, Fr.
4: Ryan Spallone, Fr.
3: Dirk Puleo, Fr.
2: Thomas Stone, Sr.
Bow: Aaron Swope, Sr.
2nd Varsity 8 – Class of 1985
Coxswain: Max Silverman, Sr.
Stroke: Luke Lambropoulos, So.
7: Nathan Peot, So.
6: Sen Zelov, Fr.
5: Christian Sieck, Sr.
4: Jack Fiala, So.
3: Kevin Carney, So.
2: Andy Thompson, Fr.
Bow: Luca Arvanitis, Fr.
3rd Varsity 8 – Uebele
Coxswain: Emma Minadeo, Jr.
Stroke: Aidan DeWitt, Fr.
7: Nick Caravias, Sr.
6: Mason Cametas, Jr.
5: Dan Van Syckle, Jr.
4: Will Amrhein, So.
3: Ryan Daly, So.
2: Brian Skeels, Jr.
Bow: Brent Mankin, Jr.
4+
Stroke: Miles Kline, Fr.
3: Cian Nowak, Sr.
2: Graham Knox, Fr.
Bow: Zenable Adisalem, Fr.
Coxswain: Ben Weggeland, Jr.