CAMDEN, N.J. – Colgate men's rowing traveled to Camden, N.J. on April 11th and 12th for the Knecht Cup, where every athlete took home a medal, four athletes won three, and two took home two medals.
ASSISTANT COACH ERIC SUMMER'S COMMENTS
"The team had a very solid regatta to open the spring season. Every boat raced very well and we are very pleased with the results."
SATURDAY HEATS
All four crews that raced on Saturday took first in their respective heats. The crew in the men's frosh/novice four had the most dominant performance of the day, finishing ahead of the other crews in their heat by over a minute, and all other crews in the event by 12 seconds.
Due to only three entries in the second varsity four event, Colgate's crew went straight to the final on Sunday and faced Lehigh and Mercyhurst. Similarly, the varsity quad event also went to their respective final on Sunday, as only three crews were entered in the event. The quad competed against Dominican University and Oklahoma City.
Men's Varsity Pair
Luca Williams and Mark Giacona opened up racing for the Raiders in the varsity pair and crossed with a time of 7:34.44 to place first in their heat over Oklahoma City's time of 7:36.77. The pair faced Oklahoma City again in the final, along with Oklahoma City's B crew, New Hampshire, Penn State, and Lafayette.
- By 750 meters into the race, Oklahoma City A had a boat-length lead over the Raiders.
- Colgate managed to make a push with 900m to go in order to close that gap and have overlap between them and the Stars.
- With a stumble by Oklahoma City into the last 250m, the duo managed to enter the red buoys with a lead over the Stars to finish first.
- Williams and Giacona finished with the fastest time among all crews in the event, giving them a first-seed lane advantage in the final.
Men's Double
First-year duo, Daniel Milligan and Andrew Dumaresq, cleared the rest of their competitors by 18 seconds, earning first in their heat with a final time of 7:20.09. The boat found themselves pitted against Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City's A and B crews, George Mason, and Dominican University in the final.\
- Colgate found a strong start in lane six by 500m in, followed by Pittsburgh and Oklahoma City.
- All other crews trailed behind the Raider duo for the remainder of the race. With a multiple-boat length gap between them and the other competitors, Milligana and Dumaresq cruised through the finish line at base pace.
- With no sprint, the duo still managed to have the first-overall time among the two heats, earning Colgate another first-seen lane advantage going into Sunday.
- Oklahoma City crossed the line in 7:39.07, followed by Pittsburgh (7:45.09) to compete against Colgate again in the Sunday final.
Men's Frosh/Novice Four
The frosh/novice four proved themselves to be a well-oiled crew as they crossed the line before the other crews in their heat made it to the last 250 meters of the race. The four clocked in a time of 7:09.73, finishing over a minute ahead of the other entries. They were seeded first in the final against Lafayette, Connecticut, Temple, Fordham, and Case Western Reserve.
- Colgate jumped out the starting block, putting themselves half of a length ahead of all other crews five strokes into the race.
- By 500 meters, the Raiders stamped their claim on a first-place position and were commended by the commentators on their strong performance early on.
- The four continued to put distance between themselves and the other crews, allowing them a clear first-place finish.
- Out of the four heats, Colgate had a 13 second lead to, once again, go into Sunday seeded first.
Men's Varsity Four
Colgate's varsity four rounded out Saturday racing with another first place finish with a time of 6:39.57. The varsity four competed against MIT and Fairfield, along with Temple's A, B, and C crews.
- The rowers in the double and pair were combined to race for a second time and be coxed by Abby Hylan in the varsity four event.
- Another dominant showing by the Raiders left the other competitors behind by the 1000m mark, but only had a boat-length gap over Temple B.
- The crew was able to maintain their solid lead and cross first ahead of Temple B (6:43.36).
- With the strongest performance across the two heats of varsity fours, Colgate will have a lane advantage over Temple A (6:41.23) who finished first in the other heat.
SUNDAY FINALS
12 athletes took home a gold medal during the Sunday finals. The varsity pair, double, second varsity four, frosh/novice four, and quad each showed a commanding presence in each of their respective events to cross the finish line first. The crew in the varsity four tacked on a silver finish for the Raiders.
Men's Varsity Pair
Williams and Giacona clinched Colgate's first gold medal of the day and clocked in a time of 8:04.89. The pair finished nine seconds ahead of all other crews.
- The pair took off and put open water between them and the other entries in the final.
- Colgate held their lead throughout the entire race, finishing ahead of Oklahoma City's A (8:14.09) and B (8:22.23) crews.
- The crew finished 77 seconds ahead of Lafayette (9:20.73) and Penn State (9:23.7), as well as 97 seconds before New Hampshire.
Men's Double
Milligan and Dumaresq followed the pair's performance with a first-place finish of their own that was also nine seconds faster than the other competitors. The double logged a time of 7:38.98.
- The duo took an early lead ahead of all other crews with Oklahoma City A the closest boat behind them.
- At 1000m in, the rowers managed to disconnect from the Stars to open the lead to an open-water gap.
- Milligan and Dumaresq proved themselves untouchable as they crossed the line first for Colgate's second gold of the day ahead of Oklahoma City A's time of 7:47.98.
Men's Frosh/Novice Four
After a dominant performance in the Saturday heats, the frosh/novice four found themselves rivaled by Fordham for fastest finish in the final. The Raiders did not stumble under the Rams' pressure and managed an open water gap on the other team, crossing the finish line in 7:22.81.
- 750 meters in, Fordham set themselves out in front to leave Colgate trailing for second.
- At the 1000m in, the Raiders surged to make contact with the Rams by outstroking the other crew.
- The crew faced a small stumble as the geese did not move out of the way from Ozzy Spiker's oar, costing them a seat on Fordham.
- However, this obstacle proved to be no match for the Raiders as they used this hindrance to fight even harder, and pulled even with the Rams by 500m.
- In an absolute comeback of trailing behind Fordham for 1500m, Colgate came out on top by five seconds over the Rams (7:28.24).
Men's Second Varsity Four
The second varsity four took to the water for the first time in their final to clinch Colgate's fourth gold of the day with their time of 7:28.75. The boat finished with an open water gap of 225 meters to finish over a minute ahead of Mercyhurst (8:29.16) and Lehigh (8:59.25).
- There was no competition for the crew in the second varsity four after being well out in front of Mercyhurst and Lehigh by 500 meters in, and held that lead through the finish line.
- This race gave Oliver Miller and Christian Corcione their second gold medal of the day after competing in the frosh/novice four prior.
Men's Varsity Four
The varsity four found themselves with closer competition in their final. Despite falling to Temple's A crew, the crew managed to edge out Temple's B crew to cross the line for a second-place finish in 6:52.33. This would be the rowers' second medal of the day and Hylan's first.
- Early on, both Temple A and B jumped out ahead, leaving Colgate in third, followed by Temple C, MIT, and Fairfield.
- The Raiders pulled even with Temple B for second-place contention around 600 meters in and closed the gap slightly that Temple A had.
- Colgate and Temple B stayed tight throughout the whole race, with the lead changing every hundred meters, but ultimately Temple B took a slim lead.
- The last 250 meters was a wake up call for the Raiders as Hylan urged the crew to push and take the lead over Temple B.
- The call was victorious as Colgate narrowly took second by 0.4 seconds over the B crew (6:52.73).
Men's Varsity Quad
Williams, Giacona, Milligan, and Dumaresq found themselves on the water for their third, and last time, of the day in the varsity quad. The quad will take home their third medal after finishing first in the final, after earning a time of 6:46.57.
- To end the day, the four rowers put the quad in the water for the first time this weekend and were pitted against Oklahoma City and Dominican University.
- Another dominant showing from Colgate allowed the quad to round out the day with another gold medal finish ahead of Oklahoma City (6:49.73) in second and Dominican University (7:14.39) in third.
- This final race gave the quad their third medals of the day.
UP NEXT
The Raiders will travel south to Oak Ridge, Tenn. on April 18th and 19th to compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.
Colgate Lineups
Men's Varsity Pair
Luca Williams, Mark Giacona
Men's Double
Daniel Milligan, Andrew Dumaresq
Men's Frosh/Novice Four
Adina Frid-Madden (C), Harry Waters, Oliver Miller, Christian Corcione, Ozzy Spiker
Men's Second Varsity Four
Maeve Van Horn (C), Mel Farrell, Oliver Miller, Christian Corcione, Stokes Feezor
Men's Varsity Four
Abby Hylan (C), Luca Williams, Mark Giacona, Daniel Milligan, Andrew Dumaresq
Men's Varsity Quad
Luca Williams, Mark Giacona, Daniel Milligan, Andrew Dumaresq
