PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - This past weekend, the Dukes traveled across the state of Pennsylvania to participate in the 50th running of the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in the city of Brotherly Love. Upon their arrival to the racecourse on Friday at Fairmount Park along Kelly Drive, the Dukes were greeted by 25mph winds and intermittent heavy rain storms. However, the rain didn't dampen the spirits of the team, who was happy to be in Philadelphia once again and their excitement was palpable as the team rigged their shells for racing on Saturday.
Upon return to the racecourse on Saturday morning, the weather improved drastically; the sun was shining, the winds were only light to moderate instead of heavy, and the water in the river was moving quickly, which led to some incredibly quick times on the course. The course itself was shorter this year than in years past, because of logistical problems left over from Hurricane Ida, so with a quick current, fewer meters, and good racing conditions, Duquesne sent out their first boat of the day, the Women's Freshman 4+.
The women's Freshman 4+ took to the course eager to show off the work they had put in this past week. Starting from right around the middle of the 17 entries in their event, the Dukes had a good chance to challenge some crews as well as have crews challenge them. The strongest challenge the Dukes received was from the third place finisher, Rochester, but Duquesne was also able to move through other boats that started in front of them as well, including Dominican, and Pitt. Overall, the boat felt they had a solid race and finished seventh overall, behind a second entry from Pitt and ahead of an entry from Army.
The second round of boats to take the course were three 4+s in the Women's Championship 4+. In their starting order, the first boat down the course for Duquesne was coxed by
Catherine Egan, the second was coxed by
Julia Laurie, and the third coxed by
Vivian Chan. All three coxswains are sophomores, and between the rowers in all three boats, there were six sophomores, five juniors and one senior. Since the crews were loaded with younger athletes, for the majority of them it was their first trip down the Schuylkill River racecourse, which is always a learning experience. With leadership in the boats from the upperclassmen, the younger athletes were able to find a way to put out some solid performances and gain some truly valuable racing experience. The order the Dukes started in is how they finished relative to each other, with Egan's boat finishing ninth of 40, Laurie's boat finishing 16th of 40, and Chan's boat finishing 20th of 40.
After a lunch break, the Dukes launched out a pair of 8+s to race in the Women's Club Championship 8+s. The first boat down the course was coxed by
Elizabeth Kuhn, the second coxed by
Alexandria Catalano.
Elizabeth Kuhn's boat had a fantastic race going, all of the rowers agreed that the boat had never felt better. Unfortunately, the variability and chaos that comes with racing had an effect on the boat; a tree branch caught on the skeg of Kuhn's boat, forcing them to stop below the Girard Ave. Bridge, a mere 200m from the finish line to avoid a collision with the bridge. With the branch cleared, the Dukes pulled out their best sprint to date, and produced a 28th place finish.
Meanwhile, Catalano's 8+ started with some chaos of their own; with the tight quarters in the marshalling area and in the first half of the racecourse, Alexandria had to navigate several potential collisions with other crews as she was either passing them or adjusting her place in the line waiting for the race. However, Alexandria was able to find a way through the turmoil, keep her crew under control, and when she came around the turn after the Columbia Bridge onto the long straightaway to the finish line, the crew was strong and in open water. To date, the race was the crew's best race yet, and the athletes felt good about the experience they gained. Overall, Catalano's boat finished 32nd of 41.
The final race of the day was another 8+; this time the Dukes sent out an entry in the Women's Championship 8+s. Coxed by
Catherine Egan, who had seen the course earlier, the crew launched confident and ready for whatever the race had in store. In the first half of the race, boats from Lehigh and St. Joe's slipped past, but the Dukes held strong and held their composure. As they came down the final straightaway, the athletes looked composed and were pushing a race pace of 32-34 strokes per minute. After the race, the athletes identified concrete areas for improvement, and despite a seventh-place finish of seven entries, the athletes walked away feeling good about their performance and lessons they learned.
Head Coach Jenn Langzettel: "The team performed well given the adversity the day presented with debris, wind, and competition. We commend our coxswains for navigating that adversity and keeping their crews focused and race ready. This race was our most competitive race of the season. It brought to light our strengths and also showed our areas of improvement. We look forward to one more solid day of competition against WVU before we close out the season."
DUQUESNE LINEUPS:
DUQUESNE RESULTS
- Women's College Freshman / Novice 4+: 7th of 17
- Women's Championship 4+: 9th, 16th, 20th of 40
- Women's Club Championship 8+: 28th, 32nd of 41
- Women's Championship 8+: 7th of 7
NEXT UP
The Dukes are slated to travel to Morgantown, W. Va. to take on West Virginia on Friday, Nov. 12.
