Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Duquesne University rowing team continued its 2025 spring campaign this past weekend at the Ford Lake Cup in Ypsilanti, Mich., and hosted by Eastern Michigan.
When the team arrived for practice Friday, conditions were gorgeous, with temperatures comfortably in the 70s, along with abundant sunshine. Upon arrival to the racecourse Saturday, the conditions could not have been more different. Sunshine was replaced with a thick gray cloud deck, the pleasant temperatures became biting cold, which was accompanied by an unrelenting crosstail wind from the NNW at 15 mph and gusting to 25 mph, which roiled the surface of Ford Lake and created extremely difficult racing conditions. In short, it was not a great day to exist as a human outdoors, however, the conditions were safe enough for racing, so the regatta started as planned.
1ST VARSITY 8+
The first crew for Duquesne to launch into the chaos of Ford Lake was the 1st Varsity 8+. Duquesne lined up against two crews that it had raced two weeks prior at Knecht Cup, UMass and Bucknell, along with Temple in a four boat heat. The Dukes leaped off the line with the starting command and made a strong challenge for the lead to control the race. The other three crews responded and made challenges of their own to take control, and the fight persisted to the 1,000-meter mark. The race remained extremely competitive, with race leaders UMass and Bucknell in a stroke-for-stroke battle, with Delaware slightly down on the race leaders, and Duquesne fading back on UMass, but not by much. As the crews bashed their way through the waves to the finish line, UMass and Bucknell ended in a dead-heat tie for first, while Temple finished with a little overlap on the lead crews, 3.8 seconds back, and Duquesne finished a few seats of open water down on UMass, 5.3 seconds behind. Their fourth place finish and sixth fastest time in heats for the day finished, the Dukes would progress to a petite final that would later be canceled due to the deterioration of racing conditions, making their one and only race of the day.
2ND VARSITY 8+
The second crew of the day to launch into the whitecaps for Duquesne was the 2nd Varsity 8+. The Dukes would take the start line along with hosts Eastern Michigan, conference rivals UMass and Delaware. All four crews plowed through the crosswind off the start and, on the third stroke of the race, the crews were hit with a strong wind gust that knocked the Dukes off their rhythm, allowing EMU, Delaware, and UMass to jump out in front. Duquesne would try several times to regroup and get its rhythm back but to no avail, and they dropped off the pace of the race. At the finish line, the Eagles won a narrow 0.9 second victory over Delaware, while UMass finished a few seats open water down on Delaware, and Duquesne trailed UMass by 26.4 seconds. Duquesne's second chance for a better race in the petite final was denied by the windy conditions later in the day, making the heat its only race of the day.
1ST VARSITY 4+
The third crew of the day to hurl themselves into the fray on Ford Lake was the 1st Varsity 4+. Duquesne took to the start line to face off against UMass, Delaware, and Temple. The wind howling, the starter gave the start command and the crews launched out onto the course. The crews from UMass, Duquesne, and Delaware quickly formed a pack at the front, with a slight edge to UMass, while Temple faded back, the conditions having gotten the better of the crew. As the race progressed down the course, UMass found some extra speed despite the waves and put an open water gap on the Dukes and Blue Hens, who were themselves engaged in a close fight for second. As the crews crossed the finish line, UMass took first, while Delaware edged out a strong challenge from Duquesne, finishing 1.3 seconds ahead of the Dukes, while Temple rounded out the field. Having finished third, the Dukes qualified for the Grand Final, the only Duquesne crew on the day to race a grand final race.
GRAND FINAL
In the Grand Final, the Varsity 4+ would contend with conditions that on the Beaufort Wind Scale would be a 5 (moderate waves, taking a more pronounced long form; many white caps are formed), as well as crews from UMass, Delaware, WVU, High Point and Bucknell. As the starting command came, all six crews launched themselves down the course against each other, and against waves cracking themselves on the riggers and gunwales. As the race approached the 1000m mark, the crews had formed themselves into three distinct pairs: Bucknell and UMass were fighting each other for the race lead, Duquesne found themselves again mixing it up against Delaware and WVU and High Point had their own affair going on at the back of the pack. As the crews crossed the line, Bucknell took a two second victory over UMass, while Delaware, who trailed UMass by nine seconds, stayed two seconds ahead of Duquesne. WVU would take fifth, 9.6 seconds back on Duquesne, and High Point came through the line 6.3 seconds behind WVU.
2ND VARSITY 4+ & 3RD VARSITY 8+
Both of these crews launched for their races, which were to occur directly after the 1V4+ race, so while they had the experience of launching into difficult rowing waters on a less than pleasant day, the race organizers decided that the conditions had deteriorated too much to safely run their races and directed them back to the recovery dock without racing, in order to keep the athletes and equipment safe.
QUOTABLE
"I'm very proud of our Varsity 4 for making the grand final and finishing fourth overall against some tough competition," head coach
Matt Carlsen said. "It was also great to see us close the margins on crews we faced two weeks ago by a significant amount. We have three weeks to go before the championships, so now it's time to put the pedal to the metal, put our heads down and put in the work to gain even more speed."
UP NEXT
The Dukes will return to action Sunday, May 3
, against WVU and Robert Morris in Morgantown, W.Va., followed by the Atlantic 10 Conference Rowing Championship on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.
RESULTS
1V8+: 4
th in heat (petite final canceled, 6
th fastest time in heats of 8)
2V8+: 4
th in heat (petite final canceled, 8
th fastest time in heats of 8)
1V4+: 3
rd in heats, 4
th overall in grand final
2V4+: race canceled
3V8+: race canceled
LINEUPS
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