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#1 Wesleyan Men’s Rowing Varsity 8 Captures Gold at New England Championship for the Fifth Time in Team History

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Rowing News
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Story and photo courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics.
WORCESTER, Mass. – The varsity 8 for the No. 1 nationally ranked Wesleyan men’s rowing team continues to roll as the Cardinals’ top boat captured a first-place finish at the New England Championships hosted at Lake Quinsigamond on Saturday. This marks the fifth time in team history (1967, 1987, 2004, 2019, 2024) that the Cardinals have won the Rusty Callow Trophy (New England Championship).

Competing against every boat ranked in the Top 5 nationally, the Cardinals earned a spot in the grand final with a time of 6:04.20 in heat 1 of preliminaries. Racing in the grand final against MIT (competes at the D1 level in crew), No. 2 Trinity, No. 3 Tufts, No. 4 Williams, and No. 5 Bates, it was the Cardinals who surged past the finish line in a near photo finish over the runner-up MIT. Wesleyan clocked in at 5:57.59 to earn the win while the Engineers had a time of 5:58.88 and the Jumbos took third at 5:59.34.

The Cardinals’ 2nd varsity 8 had a strong showing as well, finishing second in heat 2 of preliminaries with a time of 6:12.69. Racing against the same five crews as the varsity 8 in the grand final, the Cardinals managed a third-place finish with a time of 6:12.60, finishing behind only Tufts (6:09.27) and Williams (6:10.58).

Wesleyan’s 3rd varsity 8 earned a silver in the grand final, finishing runner-up to the Jumbos with a time of 6:21.65. The Cardinals won heat 2 in preliminaries, crossing the line in 6:25.04 to earn a spot in the grand final.

Rounding out the competition for the Cardinals was the 4th varsity 8 which finished third out of six boats, crossing the line in 6:22.60. Tufts’ A and B boats finished #1 and #2 in the 4th varsity 8 race.

The Cardinals head back to Lake Quinsigamond next Sunday, May 12 for the National Invitational as Wesleyan looks to improve on last year’s third place finish in the varsity 8 race.

Featuring for the Cardinals on the day included:
Varsity 8 – Asher Israel ’26 (coxswain), Pierce Buckner-Wolfson ’26, Nelson Bellows ’26, Emmett Nunes ’23, Gus Shuman, Eli Smirin ’26, Paul Kiyonaga ’25, Hugo Harington ’25, and Brett Beaman ’26
2nd Varsity 8 – Ben Fischer ’27 (coxswain), Cory Reavy ’26, Nate Newcomer ’25, Freddie Bell ’25, Kiran Kling ’24, Eli Kooistra ’25, Max Ewing ’24, Josh Silbert ’26, and Cabot Adams ’27
3rd Varsity 8 – Meg Rubenstein ’25 (coxswain), Will McNally ’27, Andrew Steinert ’25, Taji Duncan ’27, Jack Cornog ’26, Nader Moghadam ’26, Haakon Kohler ’27, Evan Salhanick ’27, and Teddy Manning ’25
4th Varsity 8 – Mo Frazier ’25 (coxswain), Morgan Shatzman ’25, Tor Kushner ’27, Alex Glotzer ’25, Rowan Cahill ’26, Frank Castrofilippo ’27, Alex Kelsh ’27, Nick Jarrett ’25, and Ro Barrett ’26

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#1 Tufts Women’s Rowing Wins First-Ever NESCAC Title

By
Rowing News
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Story and photo courtesy of Tufts Athletics.

WORCESTER, MA (May 12, 2024) – The Tufts University Women’s Rowing first varsity eight won the team’s first-ever NESCAC Championship today by finishing first in the grand final at the 2024 National Invitational Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond.

The NIRC 1V8 grand final also serves as the NESCAC Championship, and the race today featured six of the top 10 teams in the Division III national poll. The Jumbos, ranked #1 in Division III for the past few weeks, proved their excellence by winning the race in a  6:52.089 time. They were three seconds ahead of second-place and #3 ranked Trinity College (6:55.249), #2 ranked Wesleyan in third (6:55.527) and #4 ranked Williams who was fifth (6:55.735) who were all within a half-second of each other. It’s a first-ever NIRC first varsity win for the Jumbos as well. The Jumbos had cruised to a 7:06.403 win in their morning heat, in front of second-place Wellesley (7:09.165), to get into the grand final.

The victory earns Tufts the conference’s automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA Division III Championships coming up May 31 through June 2 in Bethel, Ohio. It also highlighted a tremendous day on the water for Tufts today. Coach Lily Siddall‘s team also won NIRC championships in third and fourth varsity races and the novice eight, and they were the runner-up in the second varsity event.

Final Point Trophy standings for the 2024 NIRC were not yet available at the time of this release and will be added once they are completed. The Jumbos won the Team Points Trophy in 2023.

Tufts was edged by Williams College in the NIRC second varsity final today. Tufts was barely a second behind (7:10.582) the Ephs (7:09.346) in a great race. Wesleyan was third, two lengths behind Tufts in 7:17.806. The Jumbos had won the first heat in the morning, finishing nearly a length ahead of Hamilton College (7:11.493 to 7:15.937).

Both the Tufts third and fourth varsity teams won NIRC titles for the second year in a row.

In the third varsity eight, the Jumbos had won their six-team heat handily with a 7:14.539 time that was almost nine seconds in front of Hamilton’s 7:23.090 finish. In the grand final runner-up Hamilton was closer, but Tufts still pulled out the win with a 7:15.300 time to 7:19.204 by the Continentals. The Jumbos added this NIRC title to their second straight win at the New England Rowing Championships last weekend.

Tufts won a three-team fourth varsity eight race on the women’s side with a 7:26.603 mark today that was 12 seconds in front of second-place Smith College. The W5V8 then won the four-team Women’s Novice 8 grand final with a 7:40.377 mark ahead of Ithaca College’s 7:49.208.

Starting eights for the women’s team were not available at the time of this release. However, they resemble the line-ups from last week’s New England teams. Any changes to these groups will be made when they become available:

1V8 – coxswain Hannah Jiang, Rose Tinkjian, Janna Moore, Shira Roberts, Emma Mahoney, Summer Maxwell, Samara Haynes, Karen Dooley and Emma Lyle;
2V8 – coxswain Maddie Rosato with Margot Durfee, Reilly Uiterwyk, Amanda Downing, Hadley Keefe, Lucy Howell, Aoife Schmitt, Julia Zipoli and Sydney Barr;
3V8 – coxswain Shriyaa Srihari, Lecia Sun, Natalie Graham, Alicia Coble, Sophie Cumming, Grace Hamilton, Brooke Thompson, Molly Heeney and Ashna Garikapati;
4V8 – coxswain Sophie Novitsky, Ashley Brzezenski, Zenani Himlin-Mayekiso, Sophia Brackett, Alex Timoney, Stella Shen, Sanjana Rao, Alice Wall and Cecelia Wilson;
5V8 – coxswain Alex Boyer, Eva Swei, Giavanna Magnoni, Sheelyn Pharr, Nosara Maxwell, Fiona Smirl, Savannah Fredriksen, Hannah Schiller, Lyra Bornholdt-Collins and Claire Carson.

SMU Captures Fourth Consecutive American Athletic Conference Women’s Rowing Title

By
Rowing News
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Story courtesy of SMU Athletics. Photo courtesy of American Athletic Conference/Brett Carlson.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – SMU captured its fourth consecutive American Athletic Conference Women’s Rowing Championship Sunday morning, May 12, on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The Mustangs finished with 132 points to capture the team title, while Tulsa finished second with 128 points. The 4-point margin is tied for the smallest margin of victory in Championship history (2019).

Tulsa captured the Varsity 8 race for the first time in program history, winning in a time of 6:39.272 behind the crew of Johanna Kristof, Kristina Harris, Ifiyenia Marinos, Emily Bell, Madlen Markova, Darya Vyrupayeva, Robine Van Doorn, Anna Shaw and Isabella Musollino. SMU was second in 6:42.217, ahead of third place Sacramento State in 6:48.320.

SMU’s crew of Jamie Mayberry, Ava Ha, Claire Murphy, Sophia Dooley, Sarah Wood, Anna Fina, Annabelle New, Sydney Stuelpe and coxswain Ashlyn Wilshire. won the Second Varsity 8 race in 6:48.146, ahead of Tulsa (6:52.547) and Sacramento State (7:00.763).

The Mustangs won the Varsity 4 race in 7:34.494 with a crew of Paige Horton, Avery Bethel, Macey Adley, Ellie Lewis and coxswain Francesca La Marca. Sacramento State just edged Tulsa for second place with a time of 7:41.148 to 7:41.843).

The SMU Second Varsity 4 crew of Sarah Kelly, Saylor Kercher, Muriel Mercer, Issy Batrouney and coxswain Erin Kang opened the racing in the morning with a win in 7:47.564, ahead of Tulsa (7:50.408) and Temple (8:04.550).

Tulsa’s coaching staff, led by head coach Brandon Campbell, was named The American’s Coaching Staff of the Year.

With the conference title, SMU automatically qualifies for the 2024 NCAA Championship, to be held May 31-June 2 at East Fork/Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio. The selection show for the national regatta takes place Tuesday, May 21 at 5 p.m. Eastern on NCAA.com.

2024 American Women’s Rowing Championship Results

1. SMU 132
2. Tulsa 128
3. Sacramento State 100
4. Temple 72
5. Old Dominion 48
     

Coaching Staff of the Year

Tulsa

All-Conference First Team

Sofia Bespalova, Old Dominion

Sydnie Bain, Sacramento State

Emily Baker, SMU

Lauren Bilafer, SMU

Anne Ensley, SMU

Grace Knudson, SMU

Sarah Wood, SMU

Alex Catalano, Temple

Kristina Harris, Tulsa

Johanna Kristof, Tulsa

Darya Vyrupayeva, Tulsa

All-Conference Second Team

Nicole Knight, Old Dominion

Emma Goldsmith, Sacramento State

Jessica Johnson, Sacramento State

Daria Okhremtchuk, Sacramento State

Macey Adley, SMU

Claire Murphy, SMU

Carly Wright, SMU

Amarna Milne, Temple

Niamh Kiely, Temple

Bella Musollino, Tulsa

Anna Shaw, Tulsa

Coach Mom

By
Madeline Davis Tully
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Photo by Lisa Worthy.

Why aren’t more head coaches moms?

In rowing, we see plenty of mothers lining the shores at regattas, running carpools to practice, and preparing food for the team tents. But Mother’s Day is as opportune a time as any to consider another less common but certainly influential place for mothers: coaching. 

Anecdotally, mothers who coach seem to be underrepresented throughout the sport, and the numbers within at least one segment bear that out. Using the Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll as a starting point, only 17 of the 43 ranked teams have female head coaches in the first place. That’s not even 40 percent. Of those 17 coaches, a mere nine are mothers.

That means only 21 percent of ranked collegiate women’s teams are led by a mother. That means only about 350 of the roughly 1,700 athletes at these programs have the opportunity to experience a mother leading a team. And with the departure of Megan Cook Carcago from Duke at the end of this season, one more mother leading a top program will be lost. What sort of expectations does this establish for these women, consciously or otherwise, for the leadership roles women can hold once they become mothers?   

Let’s not neglect the other half of the rowing population. Too often, conversations about women coaching focus only on women’s teams. But there is absolutely nothing, other than cultural biases, preventing women, and mothers, from coaching men’s teams.

Of the 56 men’s teams ranked in the IRCA/IRA Coaches Poll, however, a mere three have female head coaches. All are in DIII and all also serve as the head coach for their women’s teams: Anna Lindgren-Streicher at Hamilton College, Katie O’Driscoll at Catholic University of America, and Carol Schoenecker at Rochester Institute of Technology. Again, what sort of expectations does this establish for these men, consciously or otherwise, for the leadership roles women can hold once they become mothers?

Also of note is that female head coaches are much less likely to be a parent than their male counterparts. Looking at the DI ranked teams, 12 of 13 male coaches are fathers, representing 92 percent, while only five of the seven female coaches are mothers. Expanded to include all divisions, nine of 17 female head coaches are mothers–just 53 percent in total.  

Looking at these numbers, we have to ask ourselves what is preventing more mothers from getting into, or staying in, coaching and what can be done to improve this. More family-friendly athletic department practices, livable wages, and supportive communities are a good place to start. 

On a day when much attention is being paid to all that mothers do, we owe it to all members of the rowing community to ensure that we make coaching a welcoming and feasible place for mothers to be and to thrive. 

Drexel Wins Men’s and Women’s Varsity Eights at Dad Vails

By
Rowing News
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Photo courtesy of Drexel Rowing.

Drexel won the overall-points championship at the Dad Vail Regatta on May 11th in Pennsauken, NJ, as both the men’s and women’s varsity eights took home the gold. This is the third consecutive win for Drexel in the men’s varsity eight, making them the first program to achieve that feat in 23 years.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the entire program and their outstanding performance to capture the overall team title,” said Paul Savell, the Dragon’s director of rowing, now in his 17th year.  “Drexel Rowing’s triumph at Dad Vail’s, securing victories in the varsity women’s 8, and the men’s varsity 8, varsity 4, and 3rd 8, and topping overall team points, is a testament to the relentless dedication, passion and excellence, that define Drexel Rowing.”

The Drexel men will continue their season at the IRA National Championship while the women, after competing at the Coastal Athletic Association Championships, will compete at the Henley Royal Regatta this summer.

Georgetown won the Dad Vail women’s points trophy with seven medals overall across open and lightweight events.

Full Dad Vail results.

 

UVA’s Esteemed Women’s Rowing Coach, Kevin Sauer, Retires After 29 Years

By
Chip Davis
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A pioneer of collegiate women’s rowing, Kevin Sauer has been one of the sport’s truly nice guys, running his program with family values that endeared him to his team and many others.

Kevin Sauer, the only varsity coach the University of Virginia women have ever known, announced his retirement in May.

One of the best-liked and most successful coaches in rowing, Sauer coached the Cavaliers for 29 years, leading the club program into the NCAA when Virginia elevated women’s rowing to varsity status in 1995.

Under Sauer, Virginia won the NCAA Division I national championship in 2010 and 2012 and trophies (top four) 11 times. The Cavaliers have ruled the Atlantic Coast Conference, winning 22 of 23 ACC regattas, including the last 13.

“This has been an incredible ride, and I have enjoyed almost every minute,” Sauer said. “I have appreciated all of the great support from administration, staff, assistant coaches, boatmen, parents and alumni. And, most of all, the student-athletes have been awesome, and I’ll miss that the most.

“I have spent all these years working with those who are fairly fortunate, so in retirement I’d like to spend my time helping those less fortunate and with our church. But, most importantly, I want to spend more time with my wife, Barb, who has been my rock and biggest supporter.

“My kids and grandchildren are local, which is a true blessing, so I will be more involved in their lives. I know this program will thrive going forward and I cannot wait to watch and support them as well as all UVA athletics. But our immediate emphasis is to finish this season well with ACCs and NCAAs.”

Sauer surpassed 1,000 career varsity-eight wins at Virginia during the 2019 season. Under Sauer’s tutelage, 46 student-athletes have earned 62 Pocock Racing Shells All-America honors. A Virginia oarswoman has rowed at each of the last five Olympics.

Sauer is a pioneer of collegiate women’s rowing, one of the coaches who took a program from club status to varsity as the sport was elevated by the NCAA. Even as full-ride scholarships and international recruiting brought a professional edge to Division I rowing, Sauer remained one of the sport’s truly nice guys, running his program with family values that endeared him to his team and many others.

“The rowing world is losing a gem,” said Princeton head coach Lori Dauphiny. “But I imagine we are not losing Kevin at all. I have never seen him stand still for a moment and I bet he is the same retired. He has always led by example in our sport. He has the ability to do it all and especially at a time when there was little support in our sport. He built a boathouse both metaphorically and physically. He could fix any rowing course blindfolded. And he developed great teams! He is a legend.”

“Kevin Sauer is on the Mount Rushmore of collegiate coaches, and the landscape of NCAA rowing will be vastly different without him,” said Texas coach Dave O’Neill. “Kevin and his teams have been an inspiration and challenge for many of us, and over the years he’s been a valued mentor, colleague, competitor, and friend.”

Virginia alumnae, friends, and families recognized and honored his contributions to Cavalier rowing by establishing the Kevin Sauer Fund for Excellence in Women’s Rowing in 2023 with an initial collective gift of over a million dollars. The fund began with a $250,000 donation from a former member of the men’s rowing club—Sauer coached both men’s and women’s club crews when he was hired originally to coach the Virginia Rowing Club in the fall of 1988—and included donations from rowers he never coached directly.

“He just cares about people,” said associate head coach Kelsie Chaudoin, who helped organize the fund drive secretly. “He has always put the person before the athlete. He shows his care and concern in his actions every day.”

Races to Watch: May 10-12

By
Madeline Davis Tully
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Photo by Lisa Worthy.

Dad Vails: The Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta returns to the Cooper River for 2024, running Friday, May 10th through Saturday, May 11. Vails, billed as the largest collegiate regatta in America, features 291 crews from 69 universities across the U.S. and Canada. The #16 Drexel men will look to defend their team title from 2023, when they won the V8+, 2V8+, and Novice 8+. #18 LaSalle will be focused on taking down the Dragons, after their two varsity eights have traded off over three previous head to head races this season, with two wins going to the Exploreres and the most recent contest going in favor of the Dragons. On the women’s side, defending champions Boston University lightweights will not be attending this year, instead traveling to Redwood Shores to race Stanford, leaving the women’s varsity eight field open for a new winner. Dad Vails is one of the few collegiate championships to allow club and varsity teams to race head to head. They also feature sculling events, another uncommon occurrence in collegiate championships. Races will be live streamed on YouTube.

USRowing Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Youth Championships: The USRowing Youth Series continues this weekend on Lake Mercer in New Jersey and at Nathan Benderson Park in Florida. Over 2,000 athlete will compete in the Mid-Atlantic Youth Championships from 65 teams, while 1,500 athlete from from 53 clubs will take part in the Southeast version of the event. These events are the next two in the USRowing Youth Series, which kicked off last weekend, naming regional champions across up to 51 events in addition to qualifying crews for the USRowing Youth National Championships in June. The New York State Scholastic Championship, held in Saratoga Springs, will also serve as a qualifying event for the national championship, in addition to naming state champions from among the 600 crews competing. All USRowing Youth Series events will be live streamed on Overnght, an emerging force in rowing live streaming.

#4 Stanford vs. #3 BU Lightweight Women: The Terrier lightweight women will make their first trip out West to take on the Cardinal at home this Saturday. The two lightweight powerhouses will meet for the first time at Redwood Shores, racing the varsity eight, varsity four, and double. Stanford is coming off a sweep at the WIRA Championship while BU just won the Konrad Ulbrich Team Trophy at Women’s Sprints last weekend. This will be the final race for both crews before the IRA National Championship at the end of the month.

Wisconsin Women’s Rowing Head Coach Vicky Opitz Media Conference

By
Madeline Davis Tully
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On May 6th, Wisconsin women’s head coach Vicky Optiz spoke with the media at Porter Boathouse to recap the team’s recent racing at Opening Day/ Windermere Cup and to preview the upcoming Big Ten Championships, hosted by UW on nearby Devil’s Lake in Baraboo, WI.

Opitz said the trip to Seattle was “awesome” and she was particularly excited by the opportunity to travel and race with the Wisconsin men’s team. She explained, “We have so few regattas where we get to go with the men’s team…so to be there as one big badger family was tremendous.” Optiz pointed to the varsity four and and second varsity eight as having particularly strong performances at Opening Day and she is “looking to keep pushing that speed throughout the whole squad,” as they prepare for the upcoming Big Ten Championships, held on Sunday, May 19th.

“Looking ahead at Big Ten’s we have about two weeks before that final last little push of speed, and I think we’ve had a really good trajectory of the season, keep building off each performance, getting a little bit more quick, a little bit cleaner technically,” Optiz explained.

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