Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's rowing team claimed its third consecutive U.S. Steel Cup during its 2025-2026 season debut at The Head of The Ohio Saturday. Thanks to perfect racing weather, consisting of flat water and a shining sun, the Dukes arrived back to the Bluff with six medals. 
 
VARSITY PAIRS
Launching first for the Dukes in the time-trial format race were four varsity pairs with bow numbers 97, 99, 101 and 102. Bow 97 was the first crew to start and left all competitors in the dust, winning the Dukes their first gold medal of the day. Shortly behind was Bow 101, which swept past rowers from Case Western Reserve, Bow 99 from Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon, ultimately gaining them a silver medal for their efforts. Bow 99 and Bow 102 came in third and fourth place, respectively, making the first race of the day a clean sweep for the Dukes. 
 
VARSITY FOURS
Carrying that energy into the rest of the day, during their next race Duquesne received a bronze medal in the four, coxed by sophomore Caitlin Langford. These athletes overtook two fours from Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to claim third overall out of 25 competitors. Duquesne's next two fours to cross the start line placed in the top 10, with Bow 133, coxed by Serena Decosmo, placing fifth and Bow 136, coxed by Kat Muha, placing sixth. Both of these fours surpassed multiple boats heading down the river, including fours from Penn State and Maryland. Bow 139, coxed by Paige Engel, was the last of the fours from Duquesne to cross the start line. Kicking off their race, the Dukes quickly passed a crew from Pitt along with crews from Robert Morris and Denison throughout the course to place 14th overall. 
 
FRESHMAN EIGHT
Starting first in their race, Duquesne's Freshman 8+ stayed ahead of their competitors and kept gaining momentum throughout the course, ultimately earning a gold medal by a margin of over three minutes. The Dukes held everyone off and beat crews from boathouse neighbors Pitt, Penn State, Case Western Reserve University and Miami (Ohio).

VARSITY EIGHTS
In the last race of the day for the Dukes were four Varsity 8s, coxed by Paige Engel (Bow 231), Serena Decosmo (Bow 240), Kat Muha (Bow 242) and Caitlin Langford (Bow 246). Crossing the starting line first for the race was Bow 231. With no crews ahead of them, the Dukes flew down the race course, holding off boats from Robert Morris and West Virginia to defend the U.S. Steel Cup and keep the title for the third year in a row. Next to cross the starting line for the Dukes was Bow 240, who started their race chasing down crews from Ohio State and Carnegie Mellon. The Dukes had a great race and finished fifth out of 15 crews. The final boats headed down the course for Duquesne were Bow 242 and Bow 246, who finished seventh and eighth, respectively, just under 1.2 seconds from one another. The Dukes gave it their all and beat competitors from West Virginia, Miami (Ohio) and Denison. 
 
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of how practices have been going since we started in August and it really showed during the races," head coach Matt Carlsen said. "To come away with so many medals and to win the Varsity 8 against some great competition is a big confidence boost for us that our new way of training is working. I'm also very proud of all the freshmen who have upped our competitiveness from day one."
 
UP NEXT
The Dukes will continue their fall racing at the Head of the Occoquan in Fairfax Station, Va., Saturday Nov. 1. 
 
RESULTS
Women's Collegiate open 2-: 1st (16:40.539), 2nd (16:56.464), 3rd (17:07.449), 4th (17:18.466) 
Women's Collegiate 4+: 3rd (15:59.145), 5th (16:05.916), 6th (16:37.867), 14th (17:11.094)
Women's Collegiate Novice 8+: 1st (14:21.600) 
Women's Open 8+: (USX Cup): 1st (14:16.969) 5th (14:52.763) 7th (15:25.506) 8th (15:26.673)
 
LINEUPS
 
Race                Open 2-                       Open 2-                  Open 2-                   Open 2-
Bow #                  97                                 99                          101                           102
Bow              Nina DiFonzo             Sabrina Alcaro         Cate Manclark           Danielle Smith
Stroke      Nora Grace Foglia          Ella Hinchey           Cherise Dicke           Brooke Brindise
   
Race                    Novice 8+                    Open 8+             Open 8+                Open 8+
Bow #                       160                              231                     240                        242
Bow                   Isabelle Pilato       Nina DiFonzo        Jocelyn Tatarko      Isabelle Pilato
2                        Kayla Kral             Ella Hinchey           Lily Armstrong       Ellie Knuth 
3                        Madison Lambert  Reilly Tibbitts         Katherine Zema     Courtney McCord 
4                        Dakota Psensky    Brooke Brindise     Julia Serdinak       Madelyn Strause
5                        Morgan Kernan     Danielle Smith       Mikayla Bartos       Margaret Osterhaudt
6                        Sarah Hartzell       Cate Manclark       Catie Duffner         Mateja van Gameren
7                        Ella Kerrigan         Cherise Dicke        Sabrina Alcaro       Ella Kerrigan
Stroke              Katherine Zema    Nora Grace Foglia  Nicole Woroszylo   Sarah Hartzell
Coxswain         Abby Berger        Paige Engel           Serena DeCosmo    Kat Muha
 
Race                    Open 8+
Bow #                      246
Bow                 Anna Dering
2                       Emma Mills 
3                      Olivia Martinez
4                      Madison Lambert
5                      Kayla Kral
6                      Amelia Nicholas
7                      Dakota Psensky
Stroke             Morgan Kernan
Coxswain       Caitlin Langford 
 
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and updates on Duquesne rowing, follow the Dukes on X and Instagram.