CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Ithaca College sent six rowing crews to Cherry Hill, N.J. including three from the women's program for a rainy weekend of championship-style racing on the Cooper River. The Knecht Cup draws dozens of schools that run the range from varsity to club, DI to DIII, and the Bombers use this regatta as an opportunity to race up so that each crew can practice staying composed while being pushed by faster crews. The results in the three women's events follow below.  For the men's recap please click here.
 
The 1V raced in the D1 1V event. In this event, the top-3 finishers in each of the four heats advance to the three semifinals along with the crews posting the next 6 fastest times. The remaining crews are eliminated. From the three semifinals, finishers 1&2 progress to the A final, 3&4 to the B final, and 5&6 to the C final. 
 
The Bombers crew of Caroline Hoskins, Lily Babcock, Emma Hammel, Maggie Farber, Zoe Paradis Stern, Kai Lincke, Ashley Bailey, Samantha Gallagher and Beth Roberts drove hard past Jacksonville, Stetson, and Merrimack in their heat to secure a place in the semifinals but had a rougher go of it in the afternoon semi. The Bombers finished in fifth behind Bucknell, Drexel, Marist & Monmouth to land in Sunday's C final. The next morning, Hoskins' crew tapped back into their fitness & confidence to cross the line first (for 13th overall), in a tight field including LaSalle, Canisius, Embry-Riddle, Lehigh and Duquesne.
 
The Bombers 2V of Kaelyn Morandi, Anna Capodilupo, Julia DiCostanzo, Claire Edwards, Emma Thorne, Calla Bobak, Emmeline Robinson, Hope Oliveira and Carys Owen were entered in the D1 2v event.  With 20 entries in the event, the top 2 crews from each of the four heats progressed directly to the two semifinals along with crews posting the next four fastest times, and eight crews were eliminated. From the semi, the top 3 crews advance to the A final, and the trailing 3 head to the B final.
 
The Bomber 2V opened the regatta with a sharp, clean piece, trailing Jacksonville, but nudging out Marist, Boston U, & Stetson for a spot in the semi. Despite the strong opening and holding a lead on Canisius, the 2V was unable to match the pace set by Drexel, Jacksonville, U Conn and Radcliffe in the semi. In Sunday's B final, the Bombers struggled to find their swing and finished 6th (12th overall) behind Radcliffe, UMass, Marist, Canisius and Boston U. The crew has a chance to rematch Marist & Canisius at next weekend's NY States and will certainly be looking to bridge the gap in training this week. 
 
Ithaca's 3v 8+ was entered in the DIII 8+ event but was still racing up as they faced 1V and 2V crews from within the division. From three heats, the top crews advanced directly to the A final, while the following 9 fastest times were seeded into A and B finals. The crew of Gill, Fisch, Sagaas, Ebert, Heim, Murphy, Nemeth, Mendoza-Arias and Landis put up an admirable fight to place fourth in their heat behind Bryn Mawr A, St Mary's B and Skidmore B, and advance through to the B final. In that final, the Bombers finished third (ninth overall) behind 1V crews from Catholic and Stockton and held off charges from Case Western, Bryn Mawr B and Stockton B.
 
Cherry Hill turned out to be a great venue for visits from team parents and alumni. The team refueling tent was stocked beyond our imaginations and (while the snacks are certainly a perk) we hope those supporters know that it's your presence & cheers that mean the most to our crews!
 
The Bombers split our efforts next weekend as the men head to Worcester Mass. and the women's program tackle NY State Collegiate Championships in Saratoga Springs that is slated for Saturday at 8 a.m.