Rowing Grabs Strong Results in Split Bergen and Kelly Cup

Men's Rowing | April 30, 2022

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's and women's rowing concluded their penultimate races of the season on the Schuylkill, the men and women split between the Bergen and Kelly Cups.

The lightweight team competed in the men's second varsity 4+ and opened the day on the water, nearly grabbing the top time of the two boat event against Drexel. The boat, coxswained by Elizabeth Boyle, finished just two seconds behind the Dragons' boat in a tight race.

"Our Lightweight 4+ raced in the 2V4 category and this race was one of the best of the day," said assistant coach Ivo Krakic. "Our boat was even with Drexel all the way down the course, no crew would give another an inch of lead. We took a little bit of advantage in the body of the race, however Drexel managed to just take the win at the end. A very hard-fought battle by the lightweight guys!"

Just as the lightweight moved up to compete, the Second Varsity 4+ also moved up in competition to compete in the Varsity 4+. The boat finished second of the four boat event, just five seconds off Drexel's boat. The Explorers outpaced Temple by .4s to snatch second place out of the hand of the owls.

"Another strong weekend by the men. Our 2V4 stepped up and raced in the Vasirty 4+ category," continued Krakic. "They fought hard and raced a very good race to come home in second place, and I am pleased with the speed that the guys showed today."

With stiff competition in the Varsity 8+ race, the Explorers competed hard against some of the best boats in the country. La Salle finished third in the race, only nine seconds off the pace of Drexel and less than five seconds behind Drexel.

"We competed in the V8+ for the second time this season and our guys had a fantastic race coming in third. Guys had contact with leading crews throughout the race and really showed some grit today. We had close racing against nationally ranked teams that will give us a lot of confidence in the work that we have been doing so far, and it gives us a clear indication of how much more work we need to put in to close the gap to the top teams."

The Women's Varsity 4+ tallied the best showing of the Kelly Cup for the women, battling against their Philly counterparts for a third place finish in the four boat event. The Explorers finished just eight seconds off of rival Saint Joseph's.

"Varsity 4+ had a phenomenal showing, positioning themselves in 3rd place early on with a large margin over 4th place Jefferson," said assistant coach Kelsey Franks.

The Women's Second Varsity 8+ were in a close battle with the pack, slipping away late as the ladies finished fifth on the day. The women closed strong but were unable to cut the gap from the fourth place Drexel boat.

"2nd Varsity 8+ was in a battle with Drexel and St Joe's the entire first 500, but fell back to 5th in the second 500. The women found more speed halfway down the course to close the gap, finishing with a time of 7:33.5," said Franks.

The Varsity 8+ boat saw themselves in a battle amongst the field, none of the boats able to create serious distance away from the field. The Explorers and A-10 rivals Saint Joseph's battled down to the wire, just under two seconds separating the two teams as the Hawks crossed the finish line just under two seconds quicker than the Explorers, La Salle forced to settle for fourth in the event.

"The 1st Varsity 8+ was a barn burner race," continued Franks. "Our ladies were in second place in the third 500, then at 1000 meter mark were battling back and forth with A10 competitor St Joe's. The Hawks made a worthy move in the third 500 and the Explorers sprinted back to close the gap, finishing just one second behind St Joe's. It was an incredible learning experience for our young Varsity 8 and they are hungry for more speed!"

"Our V4 and 2V8 executed their catches all the way down the course, which has been the main focus this week," stated Franks. "The highlight of the day was the Varsity 8's incredible performance, especially coxswain Maddy Clune's impeccable steering in lane 1."

"This very young lineup continues to get faster and they couldn't do it without the support and drive from everyone else on the team. The 1V and the 2V have a few tricks up their sleeves during the next two weeks of training to close some time gaps and perform our best at the A10 championship."

RESULTS
Men's 2V4+

Drexel 6:51.9
La Salle 6:53.9

Men's V4+