CAMDEN, N.J. – The Raiders traveled to Camden, N.J. to compete in the Knecht cup for the first time since 2022 on April 11th and 12th.

HEAD COACH JIM LISTER'S COMMENTS
"First time for team to compete at the Knecht Cup in 5 years. It was a two day race weekend  with over 30 division 1 teams. It comes mid season when we are still developing our lineups and race plans. And this is where we saw a lot of growth for our boats. We were very analytical and made adjustments in all facets of the race plan.  We certainly saw a lot of very good competition and made strides in narrowing the gap as well as leap frogging some teams that we haven't been on the winning side before. I am really excited to see how this weekend's investment helps us in our second half of our season."

SATURDAY HEATS
The second varsity four crews managed to clinch spots in the final (A) and second petite final (B) to start off the day. Colgate's second varsity eight went straight to the fourth final, while the varsity eight will compete in their semi-final Sunday morning to see which final they will compete in in the afternoon.

Women's Second Varsity Four
Colgate had two entries in the second varsity four event. The A four competed in heat two, earning first and a spot in the final with a time of 8:18.10. The crew faced UMass, Temple, Drexel, Bryant University, and Wisconsin on Sunday.

• The Raiders and Lehigh found themselves in a Patriot League showdown as they competed against each other for the first time this season,
• Lehigh managed to take an edge over Colgate within the first 250m, but coxswain Olivia Larsen rallied her crew to make a push to overtake the Mountain Hawks.
• By 750 meters, the boat gained an open-water advantage over the other crews and were applauded by the commentators for their steady stride.
• Taking first over Villanova (8:27.96), Connecticut (8:34,03), and Lehigh (8:44.58) allowed Colgate to go straight to the grand final of the women's second varsity four event.

The Raiders' B four found themselves in the second petite final against Fairfield, Connecticut, West Virginia University's A and B crews, and Patriot League foes, Lehigh, after crossing with a time of 8:45.23.

• Temple and Boston College took leads early on, leaving Colgate and West Virginia to battle it out for third.
• At 1250m in, the Raiders pulled slightly ahead of the Mountaineers to put themselves in that third-place position.
• Colgate finished just out in front of West Virginia (8:45.23), placing them in the petite final as they finished within the next 12 fastest times out of crews from all six heats.

Women's Varsity Four
The varsity four, coxed by Helena Cerutti, clocked in at 8:44.04 in their respective heat and did not qualify for a semi-final position. 

• At 1000m in, Colgate fell short to Wisconsin and Villanova to fight against Old Dominion and Lehigh for third place.
• The Mountain Hawks surged ahead for a slight advantage over the other two crews, leaving Colgate to attempt to take fourth over Old Dominion.
• The Big Blue had a strong 500m, overtaking Colgate and crossing the line ahead of them at 8:39.27.

Women's Second Varsity Eight
Colgate's second varsity eight logged a time of 7:17.87, and earned themselves a spot in the fourth final. The eight, coxed by Victoria Reale, competed against Wisconsin, Fairfield, La Salle, Bucknell, and Albany on Sunday in their final.

• The crew found themselves underpaced compared to the other entries, leading them to battle La Salle for the fourth-place position. 
• Colgate pushed to lessen La Salle's lead on them 750m in, only letting the Explorers have a half of a length lead.
• Despite the Raiders' efforts, they fell to La Salle's time of 7:14.58, but still had a time fast enough to compete on Sunday in the fourth final.

Women's Varsity Eight
The Raiders closed out Saturday competition in the varsity eight event. The crew clinched a semi-final spot after finishing with a time of 6:55.42 to face Villanova, Delaware, Boston College, UMass, and Georgetown.

• Stiff competition out of the blocks for the varsity eight event found no leader by 200m in.
• Colgate held their start and pushed ahead of the competition, followed by La Salle and Temple for second, then Villanova and BU for fourth.
• Into the base of the race, coxswain Katherine Metcalf opened the gap between the other crews with a half-a-length lead.
• The BU lightweights stopped the Raiders' lead at the 750, and made a strong push to put themselves in first-place contention.
• With 250m to go, it became a tight race for second between Colgate and Temple, both crews dead even coming into the last few strokes.
• Colgate just narrowly finished ahead of Temple (6:55.83) by 0.4 seconds, nailing down a semi-final position Sunday morning to determine which final they will compete in Sunday afternoon.

SUNDAY SEMI-FINALS / FINALS

Women's Second Varsity Four Second Petite Final

Colgate's third varsity four earned a third-place finish in the second petite final in the second varsity four event with a time of 9:11.15.

• Connecticut and West Virginia B had an early open-water lead on the other boats, leaving Colgate, Fairfield, and Lehigh to stroke it out for the third-place position.
• Colgate took a seat advantage up on Fairfield and Lehigh by the 750m mark, and pushed up to a half of a length lead by the 1000m buoy.
• At the 500m, it was a two-boat race for third between the Raiders and Fairfield as Lehigh dropped off.
• With a strong sprint in the last 300m, Colgate maintained a lead over Fairfield (9:12.67) to take third in the final.
• Temple A crossed the line first in 8:30.96.

Women's Second Varsity Four Final
Colgate's second varsity four was the only crew to make it to the grand final of their event, earning a fifth-place finish time of 8:41.41.

• UMass had a hot start, but fell to Bryant University and Temple's leads. Colgate stayed back, neck-and-neck for fourth with Drexel and Wisconsin.
• At the 500m Temple took the lead with Drexel, but the Raiders managed to take an edge over Wisconsin and push their shell into contact with Drexel and UMass to fight for third.
• Colgate pushed to hang onto fourth place by the 1000m mark, falling shortly behind UMass and Drexel.
• Wisconsin (8:35.13) came out from behind after trailing for 1250 meters, overtook Drexel (8:35.87) and UMass (8:38.74) for a second-place finish, and shifted the rest of the placings.
• Temple crossed the line first in 8:30.96.

Women's Second Varsity Eight Fourth Final
The second varsity eight placed second with their time of 7:23.39 in the fourth final of their event, narrowly beating out Wisconsin (7:24.85).

• The Raiders will face Patriot League's, Bucknell, in their final for the first time this season.
• Bucknell and La Salle were the early leaders in the first 400m, followed by Colgate and Wisconsin duking it out for the third-place position, and Albany and Fairfield.
• Through the second 500m Colgate fell to fourth place, but going into the next 1000m, coxswain Victoria Reale called for her crew to make a statement and walk into top-three contention.
• Reale was successful and the boat began to fight for second-place against Wisconsin.
• The Raiders were victorious in their sprint, and finished second atop Wisconsin. Bucknell crossed the line first in 7:16.95.

Women's Varsity Eight

Semi-Final
The Raiders held their lead over Georgetown (7:23.57) to cling fourth with a time of 7:22.55. The varsity eight raced again in the afternoon in the petite final against MIT, Jacksonville, Villanova, Connecticut, and Albany.

• In the varsity eight second semi-final, Villanova gained an early lead, followed by UMass.
• Colgate fell shortly behind Villanova, Boston College, and UMass to put themselves in a fourth-place position.
• Throughout the race, the Raiders steadily pushed closer to even with Villanova for third-place contention to eventually push to a grand final qualifying spot.
• Colgate fell short to the Wildcats (7:20.25), placing themselves in the petite final.
• Georgetown also raced in this semi-final and gave the varsity eight their second taste of Patriot League racing. The Hoyas crossed a second after the Raiders for fifth place.
• Colgate had another chance at Patriot League competition in their final as they competed against MIT.

Petite Final
Colgate's varsity eight ended racing for the Raiders at the Knecht cCup with a fifth place finish in the petite final, earning a final time of 7:08.42.

• Right out the blocks, Colgate, Jacksonville, MIT, and Villanova found a slight lead over Connecticut and Albany.
• By 300 meters in, MIT, Villanova, and Jacksonville pushed slightly ahead of the Raiders who began to be pushed by Connecticut for fourth.
• The second half of the race was a struggle for Colgate as they dropped off behind Connecticut in a solid fifth-place position.
• The race ended with MIT (6:54.62) taking first, followed by Jacksonville (6:58.32), Villanova (658.57), UConn (7:00.34), Colgate (7:08.42), and lastly Albany (7:14.96). 

UP NEXT
Colgate women's rowing travels north to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to compete in the New York State Championships on April 18th. The Raiders will look to defend their title in the varsity eight event.

Colgate Lineups

Women's Varsity Eight
Katherine Metcalf (C), Marie Clausen, Rebecca Carew, Elena Myatt, Ellie Givertz-Steel, Catherine Elliott, Sarah Slember, Sophia Cerroni, Stella Curcio

Women's Second Varsity Eight
Victoria Reale (C), Sophia Dranchak, Kate Lawrence, Lael Gott, Elizabeth Hoffert, Tessa Weber, Sarah Beth Sandifer, Grace Ciaravino, Claire Chesnut

Women's Varsity Four
Helena Cerutti (C), Sarah Regner, Adyson Duval, Morgan McClutchy, Talya Djemil

Women's Second Varsity Four
Olivia Larsen (C), Aubrey Short, Hope Moriarty, Grace Boyle, Anya Suko

Women's Third Varsity Four
Caitlin Walker (C), Chloe Sernick, Idona Riggs, Alice Araneo, Charlotte Benner