PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Old Dominion rowing team finished competition in the Kerr Cup on Saturday and had a strong showing.
The Varsity 8+ boat took second place in their heat on the Schuylkill River in 6:57.8 trailing only Drexel who covered the course in 6:48.3. In the final, they took third in 6:59.7 trailing only LaSalle (6:57.0) and Drexel (6:50.6).
That boat consisted of: Lucy Brennan, Sydnee Blackburn, Sofia Bespalova, Nicole Knight, Jo Copeland, Maddie Enns, Helen Schuette, Haven Habhab and coxswain Savannah Hartlove.
The 2V8+ boat was third in their heat in 7:10.3 to advance to the final. That race was under review and no times have been posted.
That boat consisted of: Olivia Kruse, Catherine Wilson, Lily Baumann, Bekah Kimman, Jinjoo Noh, Callie Crook, Nikki Dibacco, Emma Spinelli with a coxswain Elley Gortz.
The Varsity4+ boat took fourth in their heat covering the course in 8:06.1 and didn't qualify for the final.
That boat consisted of: Alexis Durand, Kendall Freeman, Kaila Smith, Afton Stahl and coxswain of Sheyla Daniels.
ODU Head Coach Brian Conley on the performance at the Kerr Cup
We had to shuffle some line ups around this week and I'm really happy with overall how the team responded to the new line ups. The Varsity 4+ had a tough race and came up short in the heat to move to the final. I know that boat is only going to get faster as we get ready for conference.
The 2V8+ showed improvement as well as they were able to finish ahead of Monmouth, who got them earlier this year. The 2V8+ has definitely showed they were getting faster in practices and it was great to get the proof as well.
The Varsity 8+ executed our race plan really well in the final. We talked a lot about remaining calm through the starting sequence so that we can be in the mix. In the final, we were able to do that and it allowed us to then show that we have a solid base speed. At 500 meters into the race our bow pushed out ahead of Temple's and stayed ahead eventually finishing open water against our conference competitor.
It was definitely a big boost to our team's confidence that we can compete at our conference level when we have faith in each other and execute. I'm proud of how far these boats are progressing this year each week and we still have to find more as we prep for conference now.
The Monarchs close their season in the American Athletic Conference championship on May 12 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Rowing Concludes Regular Season With Solid Kerr Cup Showing
