Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University rowing team opened its 2026-27 season Saturday by claiming its fourth consecutive U.S. Steel Cup at the Head of the Ohio Regatta on the Allegheny River. Beautiful weather conditions consisting of mostly sunny skies and comfortable temperatures, the Dukes earned six medals in two races.
VARSITY FOURS
Launching first for Duquesne at 11:40 a.m. were a quartet of varsity fours, which consisted of a mix of rowers from their Varsity 8 and Second Varsity 8 boats. Bow 155, coxed by
Serena DeCosmo, was the starting crew in the time-trial format race and finished their piece 53 seconds ahead of the next place. No boats in front and none close behind, the crew stayed relaxed and internal for the 4,100 meter course, which helped the Dukes secure gold medals and the Grealish Cup.
Overall, the Dukes received all three podium places for the race and had another four finish eight out of 20 teams. Bow 167, coxed by
Caitlin Langford, passed boats throughout the course to land a silver medal and Bow 172, with
Kat Muha serving as coxswain, received bronze.
VARSITY EIGHTS
In the afternoon session, Duquesne sent out four varsity eights, including a new Vespoli shell that had never raced before. At the starting point, Duquesne lined up to compete with Robert Morris, Catholic, Mercyhurst, Miami (Ohio), Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, Ohio State, Denison and Case Western Reserve.
Bow 265, with DeCosmo as the coxswain, started first off the line and stayed far ahead for the entirety of the course, earning the Dukes first place. Bow 279, coxed by
Rosalie Nicholas, used the race and home course advantage to sweep past their competitors to a silver podium finish. Trailing less than a second behind for Duquesne was Bow 277, coxed by Langford, which also cruised past other teams underneath Pittsburgh's yellow bridges. Collecting fourth place just a second behind third was Bow 274, coxed by freshman
Sydney Douglas. All Duquesne boats took the first four podium spots in the 15-boat race and brought home the U.S. Steel Cup for the fourth consecutive year.
QUOTABLE
"We're really proud of the way the team raced," head coach
Matt Carlsen said. "Getting first through fourth in the 8+ and first through third in the 4+ is a tremendous statement about the depth and competitiveness of this team. Every boat was pushing the boats around them, and that's exactly what we want our culture to be – making each other faster. We talked about building momentum this fall, and our performance at the Head of the Ohio was a big step forward. We know there is a lot more ahead of us, but this team is beginning to see what it is capable of."
UP NEXT
The Dukes continue their fall season at The Head of The Charles in Boston, Mass., Oct. 17.
RESULTS
Women's Collegiate 4+: 1st (14:13.151), 2nd (15:06.724), 3rd (15:19.930), 8th (16:04.268)
Women's Collegiate 8+: 1st (13:37.771), 2nd (14:13.549), 3rd (14:14.304), 4th (14:15.573)
LINEUPS
Race Open 4+ Open 4+ Open 4+ Open 4+
Bow # 155 167 172 174
Coxswain Serena DeCosmo Caitlin Langford Kat Muha Erin Farr
Bow Jocelyn Tatarko Nina DiFonzo Sabrina Alcaro Mateja van Gameren
2 Catie Duffner Mikayla Bartos Brooke Brindise Addison Selby
3 Ava Gallegos Elizabeth Bartos Danielle Smith Reilly Tibbitts
Stroke Cate Manclark Nicole Woroszylo Olivia Wakeman Ella Hinchey
Race Open 8+ Open 8+ Open 8+ Open 8+
Bow # 265 274 277 279
Coxswain Serena DeCosmo Sydney Douglas Caitlin Langford Rosalie Nicholas
Bow Nina DiFonzo Sabrina Alcaro Madison Lambert Roane George
2 Nicole Woroszylo Olivia Wakeman Kayla Kral Emma Mills
3 Jocelyn Tatarko Mateja van Gameren Julia Serdinak Anna Dering
4 Mikayla Bartos Brooke Brindise Callie Carpenter Jonah Althof
5 Ava Gallegos Danielle Smith Anastasia Amromina Violet Shaw
6 Catie Duffner Addison Selby Dakota Psensky Katherine Zema
7 Elizabeth Bartos Reilly Tibbitts Lily Armstrong Ellie Knuth
Stroke Cate Manclark Ella Hinchey Margaret Osterhaudt Ella Kerrigan
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