Penn Wins Men’s and Women’s Eights at the Schuylkill

The University of Pennsylvania won both the women’s and men’s championship eights, finished first and second in the club eights, and won the championship fours and frosh/novice eights.

The Penn women also went one-two in the championship coxed four, and won the college frosh/novice eight

“It was a good learning event for us. Progress is our focus,” said new Penn women’s coach Bill Manning. “We all know that everyone will get faster so we don’t keep score until April.”

University of Pennsylvania men also won the championship pair, frosh/novice coxed four, championship coxed four, alumni quads.

Riverside Boat Club’s Elizabeth Martin won the women’s championship single and Whitemarsh Boat Club’s Claire Friedlander won the women’s championship lightweight singles. Head of the Charles men’s single winner Finn Hamill, from New Zealand’s Waikato Rowing Club, won the champ single, men’s double with Justin Schmidt, and mixed double with Olympic champion Karolien Florijn. Schmidt cemented Whitemarsh’s dominance of lightweight singles by winning the men’s event.

Clete Graham, who led the Schuylkill Navy and Stotesbury Cup Regatta through their greatest growth, has kept busy in so-called retirement.  Graham finished fifth of eleven in the men’s masters lightweight single (60+), won by Malta’s Ted Trocky, before coaching two Notre Dame women’s masters eights on Saturday, and then came back to coach seven sculling boats from Concord High School (Delaware) on Sunday.

“I was pretty tired by the end of the day Sunday,” Graham admitted, “but had a great time all weekend. A very well-run regatta, with a very nicely buoyed course, and beautiful weather.”