PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (4/12/10) - The Colgate women’s varsity crew team won its first ever Knecht Cup events in program history this weekend, April 10-11 in Philadelphia, Pa. The Raiders won both the Varsity Four and Novice Four events while the second varsity 4 also appeared in the final race of its event.
“I am really glad we decided to enter the fours’ events because the eights’ races were disappointing,” noted head coach Greg Krucyznski. “All three fours entered made the grand finals in their events. Winning the Novice four and the Varsity four was fantastic for the team because this was the first time a Colgate team has won an event at the Knecht Cup.”
In the Varsity four, the women placed first in both their first heat and semi-final races on their way to the final. The Raiders finished the Grand Final with their best time of the day, 7:33.50 to earn the victory, seven seconds ahead of the next best team, Miami. Also competing in the Grand Final was Patriot League opponent, Lafayette along with Villanova, West Virginia and Buffalo. Leading the Raiders to victory were seniors Lauren Schmetterling (Moorestown, N.J.) and Vicky Hulit (Rye, N.Y.) along with junior Kalin Hennegan (Littleton, Colo.) sophomore Shannon Jackson (Roswell, Ga.) and classmate Jillian Anderson (East Walpole, Mass.) as coxswain.
The Novice four races went much the same way with Colgate winning both their heat and semi-final races on the way to the Grand Final. The Raiders best time however, was in their semi-final race with a time of 7:57.34. The novice boat won the Grand Final with a time of 7:57.74, just four tenths of a second off their semi-final time. Finishing second was Villanova with a time of 8:11.47, followed by Miami, Penn State, Pittsburgh and LaSalle. The Colgate novice boat featured freshmen Louisa Jelaco (Seattle, Wash.), Larissa Pauli (Southampton, N.Y.), Natalie Bauman (Canton, Ohio), Kate Thomson (Vashon Island, Wash.) and Stephanie Hamilton (Newton, Mass.) as coxswain.
The women’s Second Varsity Four boat finished second in their heat with a time of 8:17.02 to qualify for the final race. Buffalo won the final race with a time of 7:55.21 while the Raiders placed fifth with a time of 8:20.22. Freshman Gabby Cambanis (Athens, Greece) was at cox in the boat with sophomores Kirsten Kellstrom (Chatham, N.J.), Katie Johnescu (York, Pa.), Lauren Davis (Thornhill, Ont.) and senior Laura Crawford (Allentown, N.J.) rowing.
The Raiders Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight just missed the qualifying times in their opening heats finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Up next for the Raiders are the Patriot League Championships on April 25 at the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J.