Bucknell traveled to Washington, DC last weekend where it attended the GW Invite, a regatta that featured some of the fastest club teams in the country. The two-day event offered each crew three rounds of racing. Bucknell would have both the opportunity to gauge its speed against new teams and measure its progress against old ones, like Michigan and Virginia.
Three of four Bucknell boats collected wins Friday afternoon. The #3-ranked varsity eight made easy work of #10 Delaware without having to sprint, the second varsity eight handily defeated UNC and Minnesota, and the fourth varsity eight beat UNC by a couple lengths of open water. The lone loss of the day came against Michigan in the third varsity eight where Bucknell lost by just 1.9 seconds. While a win would have been preferred, the 3v felt pleased by its performance as it made up seven seconds on its deficit against Michigan from two weeks prior.
Saturday’s slate included one round of racing in the morning and another in the afternoon. The morning began with a highly anticipated match up in the varsity eight – #3 Bucknell versus #1 George Washington, the defending national champion. Race results were determined early, as GW exploded off the line to get ahead of the field. Ultimately GW finished 7.7 seconds ahead of Bucknell, who finished 5.3 seconds ahead of Minnesota. Just moments later, Bucknell saw GW in the second varsity eight. Having earned bronze at ACRAs last year, the Bucknell 2v was eager to dethrone GW who had won it all. The boat did just that in a decisive victory of 8.6 seconds. To conclude the morning, the Bucknell third varsity eight secured an open water win over GW and the Virginia 2F.
Bucknell produced mix results in the final round of racing Saturday afternoon. While the varsity eight handled Delaware and UNC, and the third varsity eight bested Virginia, the second and fourth varsity eights were unable to finish ahead. Nevertheless, the second varsity eight regarded its narrow 3.1 second loss as a huge step forward having lost to the same Michigan crew by 9.2 seconds just last month.
Next weekend Bucknell will take on Hobart College in Geneva, NY.
Friday
Varsity 8+
#3 Bucknell – 5:55.6
#10 Delaware – 6:04.4
2nd Varsity 8+
Bucknell – 6:00.8
North Carolina – 6:07.9
Minnesota – 6:08.8
3rd Varsity 8+
Michigan – 6:03.4
Bucknell – 6:05.3
4th Varsity 8+
Bucknell – 6:21.1
North Carolina – 6:32.4
Saturday AM
Varsity 8+
#1 George Washington – 6:19.9
#3 Bucknell – 6:27.6
Minnesota – 6:32.9
2nd Varsity 8+
Bucknell – 6:29.1
George Washington – 6:37.7
3rd Varsity 8+
Bucknell – 6:54.1
George Washington – 7:05.7
Virginia 2F – 7:06.5
Saturday PM
Varsity 8+
#3 Bucknell – 6:20.6
#10 Delaware – 6:27.5
North Carolina – 6:27.7
2nd Varsity 8+
Michigan – 6:21.0
Bucknell – 6:24.1
3rd Varsity 8+
Bucknell – 6:37.4
Virginia – 6:41.9
4th Varsity 8+
Michigan 1F – 6:23.3
Virginia 1F – 6:24.6
Bucknell – 6:48.1
1st Varsity 8+ – 2022 Hudson S8.32 SHARK Super Predator
Coxswain: Izzy Mersky, Jr.
Stroke: Andrew Viola, Jr.
7: Sen Zelov, So.
6: Kevin Carney, Jr.
5: Zach Gerhardt, Jr.
4: Conor McNichols, So.
3: Jack Fiala, Sr.
2: Ryan Genel, Fr.
Bow: Dominic Canale, Jr.
2nd Varsity 8+ – 2022 Hudson S8.32 SHARK Super Predator
Coxswain: Emma Minadeo, Sr.
Stroke: Ryan Spallone, So.
7: Dirk Puleo, So.
6: Chris Kirby, Fr.
5: Nathan Peot, Jr.
4: Andy Thompson, So.
3: Aidan DeWitt, So.
2: Will Amrhein, Jr.
Bow: Luca Arvanitis, So.
3rd Varsity 8+ – Class of 2020
Coxswain: Jack Lieblien, Fr. / Austin Carroll, Fr.
Stroke: Kellen Paulsen, Fr.
7: Oliver Abushacra, Fr.
6: Ethan Jones, Jr.
5: Dan Van Syckle, Sr.
4: Josh Raeter, Fr.
3: John Kirincich, Fr.
2: Graham Knox, Jr.
Bow: Tim Robertson, Fr.
4th Varsity 8+ – Class of 1985
Coxswain: Josiah Kwok, Fr.
Stroke: Brian Skeels, Sr.
7: Will Blumenthal, Fr.
6: Chris Morale, Fr.
5: Brent Mankin, Sr.
4: Brendan Arnold, Jr. / Griffin Walsh, Fr.
3: Garrett Van Blarcom-DeLuise, Fr.
2: Peter Nasto, Fr.
Bow: Travis Stanitis, Fr.