Bucknell 3v wins national championship, team places sixth overall

On a quest to finish the season top five in team points, Bucknell fielded its deepest team ever at this year’s ACRA National Championship. Six boats travelled to Tennessee, all hoping to maximize their contribution towards the eventual team point tally.

Coming into the regatta seeded tenth, the varsity eight was fully aware of the strength of their field. By all accounts, this year’s competition was the fastest, deepest it’s ever been. As expected, boats would be separated by the thinnest of margins during Friday’s time trial. Unfortunately Bucknell got the short of the stick, finishing the time trial in 10th place, just 0.9s away from automatically qualifying for the semifinal. In order to earn one of the few remaining spots in the semifinal, the crew would have to win its repechage later that afternoon. While this scenario was not preferred, it did yield one of the more exciting races of the weekend with the varsity eight trading haymakers with North Carolina down the full length of the course. Bucknell would squeeze in the final punch to win the repechage by only a deck.

Having already pushed its limit twice in one day, the boat undertook the remainder of the weekend with heavy legs. The crew failed to advance from the Saturday’s semifinal and was sorted into the petite final on Sunday where it placed sixth, good for 12th in the country.

The second varsity eight experienced similar highs and lows as the varsity eight, qualifying for the semifinal with a good performance in the heat, but falling short in the semifinal once tasked with a more challenging field. The crew attacked Sunday’s petite final with a chip on its shoulder and would win decisively, securing seventh in the country.

The third varsity eight entered the regatta with the highest set of expectations, aiming to cap off an undefeated run with a national championship. Its race for lanes on Friday could not have gone better, with the crew expending just enough energy to win its heat and earn a center lane for the grand final the next day. Off the blocks, two boats distinguished themselves as front-runners for gold: Bucknell and Michigan. Through the halfway point, Bucknell edged out to a one-length lead, but as the finished line approached, Michigan would claw its way back in. Ultimately Bucknell would finish ahead by 0.5s, fending off a late charge from the Wolverines. Bucknell has now medaled in the 3v event each of the last four regattas, having won it all in 2022 and again here in 2024.

Another group with a fun storyline heading into the weekend was the novice eight, a crew that had emerged as one of the program’s most competitive boats since beginning the spring with tempered expectations. The crew knew that qualifying for the grand final would be a challenge, but it could not have scripted just how difficult it would end up being. With one minute remaining in the heat, Bucknell sat one seat down on Virginia, but on the call of coxswain Zach Singer, the crew switched gears to clip Virginia on the last stroke of the race and qualify for Saturday’s semifinal, a contest that would provide equal thrill. Only the top three finishing crews from the semi would advance to the grand final, and with 90 seconds remaining, Bucknell narrowly sat in fourth behind Michigan. Having already successfully executed its sprint the day prior, the crew understood how to create more speed when it needed it most. Bucknell would finish ahead of Michigan for another photo finish, punching its ticket to Sunday’s grand final.

The grand final produced yet another photo finish, but this time Bucknell found itself on the outside looking in. From wire to wire, the novice eight ran in fifth, but had the course been 50m longer, the crew could have finished in bronze. Instead, it finished just 0.4s out of third. Nevertheless, the crew felt proud of its effort and was able to put into perspective the season as a whole soon after its race.

Rounding out the team were the small boats. To ensure that every member raced at ACRAs, four nimbler athletes came together to form a lightweight four while four other rowers of conventional stature comprised a varsity four. Together, this group of athletes served as the fifth eight of the team, but in the absence of such an event, broke down to race fours against the top athletes from most of the programs subscribed in their event. Despite this mismatch, L4 and V4 were determined to collect as many points as possible for their team. The V4 and L4 finished the weekend 3rd in the D final and petite final respectively, contesting some highly competitive battles along the way.

In the end, Bucknell fell seven points short of fifth place overall. Still, placing sixth as a school with less than 4,000 students is a massive accomplishment. This marks the third consecutive year that Bucknell has finished sixth. Positioned to take on 2025 with a roster of similar size, if not larger, the team will continue to push the nation’s best.

1st Varsity 8+ – 2024 Hudson U8.43 Ultra Super Predator
Coxswain: Izzy Mersky, Sr.
Stroke: Andrew Viola, Sr.
7: Chris Kirby, So.
6: Zach Gerhardt, Sr.
5: Conor McNichols, Jr.
4: Sen Zelov, Jr.
3: Miles Clyde, Fr.
2: Ryan Genel, So.
Bow: Jonas Sanchez, Fr.

2nd Varsity 8+ – 2022 Hudson S8.32 Super Predator
Coxswain: Tyler Leong, Fr.
Stroke: Luka Arvanitis, Jr.
7: Luke Lambropoulos, Sr.
6: Soren Stein, Fr.
5: Oliver Abushacra, So.
4: Dominic Canale, Sr.
3: Jackson Green, Fr.
2: Ryan Spallone, Jr.
Bow: Sebastian Brandt, Fr.

3rd Varsity 8+ – 2022 Hudson S8.32 Super Predator
Coxswain: Regine Escher, Fr.
Stroke: Tim Robertson, So.
7: Graham Knox, Sr.
6: Tennyson Kelly, Fr.
5: Aidan DeWitt, Jr.
4: Jack Greenleaf, Fr.
3: Robert Canestrari, Fr.
2: Andy Thompson, Jr.
Bow: John Kirincich, So.

Novice 8+ – Class of 2020
Coxswain: Zach Singer, Fr.
Stroke: Wes Peot, Fr.
7: Cornelius Nichilo, Fr.
6: Kristian Komorowski, Fr.
5: Joe Hofmann, Fr.
4: Tiarnan Nowak, Fr.
3: Jacob Mohr, Fr.
2: Tanner Tighelaar, Fr.
Bow: Tommy Smith, Fr.

Varsity 4+ – Class of 2011
Coxswain: Jack Lieblein, So.
Stroke: Chris Morale, So.
3: Travis Stanitis, So.
2: Ryan Firestone, So.
Bow: Connor Orkin, Fr.

Lightweight 4+ – Free Speed
Coxswain: Luke Catalanello, Fr.
Stroke: Will Blumenthal, So.
3: Brendan Arnold, Sr.
2: Collin Campbell, Fr.
Bow: Griffin Walsh, So.