BY LUKE REYNOLDS
PHOTO BY ED MORAN
To continue reading…
This article is exclusively for Rowing News subscribers. For as little as $5 a month, you can get access to the best quality, independent reporting on all the issues that matter to the North American rowing community.
Already a subscriber? Login
The 2022 Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Regatta is an important regatta. It’s one of the last glimpses of regular-season speed before several crews go into pre-championship season training mode. Here’s what we saw there and across the U.S. in domestic racing.
Colgate Manages Two In A Row—
The Raiders finished SIRA’s with a first-place finish in the men’s varsity eight over Jacksonville and the Florida Institute of Technology with a time of 6:10.823. Their win in Oak Ridge was the second win the crew has managed after they defeated Mercyhurst last weekend during the Knecht Cup. The Raiders aren’t finished with the regular season, though, as they will take to the oars next weekend against Hamilton and Ithaca in Rome, New York.
Wildcats Dominate—
Kansas State University had a stellar weekend in Tennessee finishing first in the women’s first varsity four, third varsity eight, and the first varsity eight.
“Overall, we’re happy to see the team continue to make progress,” KSU head coach Patrick Sweeney said. “Our performance throughout the weekend shows that fitness across the whole team is good. Each boat has made the most of the water time we’ve had, and we’ve continued to see improvement across the season.”
Bronchos Finish Regular Season in Second—
The University of Central Oklahoma tested its speed at the SIRA regatta, finishing fifth in the women’s varsity eight, fourth in the varsity four, and third in the novice four.
“It was a good weekend of racing against some very tough competition,” UCO head rowing coach Brian Ebke said. “We didn’t get all the results we wanted but we got to see some good things and it’s all about getting better as we get into the month of May.”
The Bronchos are currently ranked number two in the CRCA women’s rowing DII polls and are scheduled to compete at the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in May.
Cougs Crush Collegiate Covered Bridge—
The Washington State Cougars had a successful run at the 2022 Collegiate Covered Bridge Regatta pulling off a first-place finish in the men’s varsity eight and the women’s novice four. Also dominant at the regatta was Oregon State, going one/two/three in the men’s varsity four in addition to winning the second final of the men’s varsity four event with its D entry.
The Beavers fell short in their duel against Stanford in both their varsity and junior varsity men’s eights, however.
“The cliche equation of ‘X in = X out’ in terms of training, where what you put in during the offseason comes out as boat speed in the season is out of whack at the moment,” said Oregon State head coach Gabe Winkler. “They have worked incredibly hard over the last eight months. I’ve seen them go to the well daily and improve all the time, always gunning for more. I believe in them and I believe that they are pretty fast. Stanford is also really fast. Such is life in the Pac-12. So, when you need more boat speed, you need to go X+1. That’s what we will do for the second half of the season.”
Drexel Dragons Dominate Kerr Cup—
The Dragons did not disappoint at the 2022 Kerr Cup. The event is special for the Dragons, too, as it was created by Drexel University Alumni in 1967 to honor former Drexel coach, Dr. Thomas Kerr, Jr., who passed away in January 1988 at age 78. Drexel swept the women’s eight events winning the Lela H. Kerr Cup for the 14th time in the last 19 years. The Drexel men also pulled out a win in the men’s varsity eight over first-place ranked Yale. The win earned them the Dr. Thomas Kerr Cup for the first time since 2017. The Dragons also came out on top in the men’s third-varsity eight.
