Philadelphia crew teams compete
Fighting a slight water current and tailwind, the Saint Joseph’s University rowing teams faced off against Drexel University, Temple University, Villanova University, Philadelphia University and LaSalle University in the Bergen (men’s) and Kelly (women’s) Cup races on April 22.
“It’s exciting to be part of the great Philadelphia collegiate racing that is represented by the Bergen and Kelly Cups,” said Head Coach Mike Irwin.
The men’s victorious Varsity 8 boat, which clocked in at 5:39.9 (just 0.2 seconds before Drexel), contained senior coxswain Caroline Bird, senior Matt Ladd, senior Keenan Perry, junior Garren Best, freshman Slam Dunkley, senior Dave Wong, sophomore Riley McGwin, junior Thomson Rymer and junior Claudio Recchilungo.
“It has been too long since we have had enough team speed to be a larger part of the conversation for this tradition,” said Irwin. “And it is fun to be part of close, hard and fast races.”
Another first-place win of 5:48.2 was accomplished by the men’s Second Varsity 8 boat, which contained junior coxswain Jennifer Reynolds, freshman Devin Swech, sophomore Joseph Sullivan, senior Matt Conlin, junior Andrew O’Connor, sophomore Jack Darling, freshman Kevin Lichtenfels, junior Eric Jones and sophomore James Hammerstedt.
Placing second in their race was the Third Varsity 8, consisting of sophomore coxswain Fiona Conway, sophomore Justin Aikens, junior Trevor Tuthill, sophomore Josh Bostrom, freshman Dave Gee, junior Rob McCollough, senior Matt Weiner and sophomore Nick O’Malley. The boat beat Temple by just four seconds with a time of 6:04.15.
The men’s Freshmen 4 held coxswain Caroline Seelig, Joel Ridd, Eddie Blackburn, Tommy McGuane and Jansen Kachel. They placed second in their race at 6:54.8, four seconds behind Temple and five seconds ahead Villanova.
“We have to keep growing if we want to get to the medals dock at the Dad Vail,” Irwin said.“We have more work to do and only three weeks left to prepare.”
The women’s team showed their success over the weekend as well, with the Freshman 8, consisting of coxswain Shannon Mulgrew, Gabby Gorman, Demi Simms, Sam O’Connell, Maura Donnelly, Emma Schuettler, Kelsey Bellomia, Fiona McKee, and Kate LaCasse, scoring a Kelly Cup victory with a time of 6:58.39.
“[The women’s team] had a solid day with our Freshman 8 continuing to have a dominant year and our other boats gaining speed as we move towards A-10’s,” according to women’s Head Coach Gerry Quinlan.
The Women’s Varsity 4, including sophomore coxswain Caitlin Kennedy, junior Kerri Roman, junior Rose Tavianini, sophomore Olivia Sullivan, and sophomore Fiona Devine, placed third in their race with a time of 7:25.16, 24.26 seconds ahead of Villanova.
Varsity 8, placing fourth with a score of 6:45.58, consisted of freshman coxswain Gabby Argo, freshman Kiernan Loue, freshman Jen Raphaelson, junior Maria Biancaniello, freshman Isabella Haleski, junior Katherine Robb, freshman Allie Howell, junior Cailin McCully and sophomore Brianna Stone.
Women’s Second Varsity 8, securing a close third behind Drexel with a time of 6:49.06, consisted of sophomore coxswain Jess Crosby, junior Lauren Slattery, junior Natalie Simms, freshman Christine Porcaro, sophomore Sam Haines, junior Caroline Strauss, junior Alyssa Vanni, junior Dominique Milillo, and sophomore Cassie Francis.
The men’s team will face Rutgers University next in New Brunswick, N.J. on April 29, while the women will take a weekend off to prepare to compete in the Atlantic 10 Championships in Pennsauken, N.J., on May 6.
