Knecht Cup Eights - They're Baaaack

There was no shortage of questions coming into the eights event at the Knecht Cup - could Georgetown maintain its slight 1 second edge over Radcliffe, how fast would Wisconsin be in its first race of the year, and could any other eights stay up with the three Sprints schools?

Heat 1 looked like a rowover for Wisconsin, and so it proved to be as the Badgers finished 29 seconds ahead of the Radcliffe 2V, with Buffalo finishing another 4 seconds back. Needless to say, Wisconsin was in control from the start.

Heat 2 quickly became a two boat race between Radcliffe and Georgetown. Radcliffe pulled away in the second half as the Hoyas, clearly executing a race plan, cruised to the finish rowing low and long. A moderately surprising Duquesne boat finished third to knock Lehigh out of the grand final.

By the time of the late day final, it was clear that Wisconsin was the crew to beat, and that Georgetown and Radcliffe had bigger worries than who was the fastest between them. Ultimately, the final played out like one more year tacked on to Groundhog Day, with the Radcliffe and Georgetown boats filled with Phil Connerses, praying to wake up from their nightmare. By the 1000 meter mark Wisconsin was ahead to stay, winning the event by 11 seconds. Georgetown and Radcliffe had a battle going for a while, until the Hoyas pulled away to take second, 12 seconds ahead of the Black and White. The Radcliffe 2V took fourth, followed by Buffalo and Duquesne.

Wisconsin hasn't actually won Knecht since 2002, reflecting what has been traditionally a late starting crew. At this point, I would normally talk about how little time Wisconsin has on the water this early in the season, and it holds true for this year as well. Because of the squirrelly weather, though, I'm not sure if it's been much less than the other northern crews. Has Wisconsin become an early starting crew, or has the water time simply evened out? Or, even more frightening, are the Badgers off to their usual slow start with the usual amount of speed yet to be gained?

The Georgetown-Radcliffe duel also proved to be anticlimactic, as the Hoyas opened up space between themselves and the Black and White. Radcliffe continues to have a bumpy season, reflective of the rebuilding effort going on in Cambridge.

Turning to the freshmen, the Radcliffe eight continued to dominate, winning the event by 12 seconds over Princeton, which was 3 seconds ahead of Wisconsin [and] Georgetown[, who crossed the line in a virtual dead heat. (The official results incorrectly reported Georgetown's time.)] and Philadelphia rounded out the field. Princeton and Wisconsin also made it to the grand final of the heavy frosh eight event, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Wisconsin's performance at Knecht was impressive, if not entirely unexpected. Things were a bit more interesting on the West Coast however, and we may need to rethink the rankings...

Knecht Cup Fours - Surprising Boats, Except One

"It's gonna be a close one." This was the opinion of one UConn rower as she and her boatmates looked at the results of the women's light four heats at the weather compressed Knecht Cup. The three heat winners, Georgetown, UConn, and Pitt, were all within 0.3 seconds of each other. Two of the Pitt crew were at the results board at the same time and, after hearing the remark, as they walked away, one gave the other a look that could only have been interpreted as, "Yikes!" In retrospect, I wonder if it didn't have another meaning.

For spectators, the race begins around the 1k mark, because that's the first time you can really make out who has a lead (and then only if you squint really hard). At the halfway mark in heat 1, Georgetown was out in front of Duquesne and Buffalo, rowing relatively smoothly at a higher rate than the other boats. On this breezy day, the Hoyas weren't throwing up much spray. By the 500, Georgetown had the race won, and Buffalo was vainly trying to stay in contact with Duquesne. Maintaining it's rate through the finish, Georgetown won by 11 seconds over Duquesne, which secured its grand final spot by 15 seconds over Buffalo.

In heat 2, UConn, George Mason, and Radcliffe all looked to be within striking distance of each other at the 1k mark. By the time they reached the 500, the race had become a UConn, George Mason battle. Interesting, because there were four different strokes going on in the GM boat, but somehow they were in the thick of it. UConn pulled ahead in the last 250 with more of a power sprint than a rating sprint, winning by 6 seconds over George Mason, who was 19 seconds ahead of Radcliffe.

In heat 3, the heat predicted to be the fastest, Susquehanna came off the back early, leaving Carnegie Mellon, Wisconsin, and Pitt fighting to reach the 1000 first. By the 1k it was a CMU, Pitt race, but it was soon clear that Pitt was in control. Pitt had no need of a sprint as the Panthers won by 21 seconds, with second place CMU 10 seconds ahead of Wisconsin A.

All of which brings us to the "It's gonna be close" final. Unfortunately for me, life intruded at this point like a roommate who changes the channel during a Jack Bauer cliffhanger, and I was unable to see the race. I can only imagine Pitt, UConn, and Georgetown stealing glances at each other as they locked onto the stakeboats. Finding their point as they wonder if they need to win this race with the start or if they'll have a second go at it in the body. Tensing as the starter brings them to attention for their biggest race yet. Then somehow, over the next 2000 meters, a funny thing happened - it wasn't a "close one." I imagine that Georgetown and UConn were in it at the 1000, but then had to succumb to a superior force. I'm told that a sign of intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing thoughts in one's mind at the same time. Knowing that rowers are the most intelligent of athletes, the Pitt crew was no doubt amazed that they were taking this race in dominating fashion, while at the same time understanding that they were simply witnessing the inevitable occurring. Pitt beat second place Georgetown by a lucky 13 seconds, while UConn was another 4 seconds back. This victory solidifies Pitt's position as the class of the national light four field, and sets up Dad Vail as a potential national championship race for fours. It goes without saying that Pittsburgh should be extremely proud of this race, but still wondering who might show up at Dad Vail. Is there a fast Nova Southeastern boat out there? What about Georgia, or even Lawrence? Pitt, or should they somehow lose at Dad Vail, the Dad Vail winner, deserves a shot at the remaining Sprints fours - MIT comes to mind. If we're lucky, someday we'll have fours at IRAs.

So what happened to Wisconsin and Radcliffe? Clearly, one of the Wisconsin boats was a novice four. The other four rowed better, but not quickly, so it's not clear who was in that boat. Wisconsin only had one eight, so their 2V athletes were available, which doesn't tell us much about what the Badgers were up to. Radcliffe raced a second eight, leaving few rowers available for the four, with at least one member of the crew a walk-on freshman. Despite this, we take absolutely nothing away from Pitt's victory. Whether a result of different priorities, or because they're on the wrong side of the Line of Hope, Pitt's competition is now forced to recognize them as the top four in the country. With a 2V race at Sprints this year, the EAWRC programs may be concentrating more than usual on two eights, which makes an IRA fours event all the more desirable. If Pitt wins Dad Vail, the Panthers will deserve a shot.

As for that Radcliffe walk-on, her parents, who flew out from Chicago, filled the role of freshman walk-on Mom and Dad perfectly. As Dad fretted that her boat was behind, Mom talked about how what mattered was how proud she was that her daughter was part of this odd sport. Trust me, in a few years Mom will either rip the guts out of anyone who suggests her daughter's boat might not win, or she'll be unable to watch any race with a family member involved. Dad will believe himself a far superior coach to Cecil Tucker.

Knecht Cup Preview

Windermere is big, but the biggest race of the weekend is in Camden, NJ at the Knecht Cup. Knecht has become the most important non-championship regatta for lightweights and this year's version is no exception. The conflict with Windermere has removed Princeton, and possibly UCF and Stanford from the mix, but at the end of the day Sunday, we'll have a much better idea of who's fast and who's not.

We'll start with the light fours. After my brush with greatness on Monday (aka email to the race director), an "inside source" must've contacted officials because the heat assignments were redone. The heats look to be more fair and, while Heat 1 is possibly the weakest, I don't see anyone with a free ticket to the grand final. In the first heat Villanova, Georgetown, Duquesne, Susquehanna B, and Buffalo square off. Although they lost to Radcliffe, Georgetown seems the obvious pick here, but second isn't so easy. Duquesne has beaten Dayton, not exactly a slouch crew, while Buffalo beat, and finished a close second to, a fast Tulsa four in a scrimmage. Susqhehanna B is an unknown (but slower than the A boat) and Villanova was 5th at Murphy and lost to the UConn four. My guess is that Georgetown and Buffalo make it into the grand.

Heat 2 has Lafayette, UConn, George Mason, Radcliffe, and Wisconsin B. I'd say Radcliffe is the top pick, helped by their 17 second victory over the Hoyas a few weeks ago. This heat is the first time a Wisconsin boat will have raced this spring, so we don't really know how fast they'll be, particularly a B boat. They won't be slow. UConn has a 34 second victory over Villanova under it's belt, while a young Lafayette crew was 4th at Murphy, about 4 seconds ahead of Villanova. George Mason is unknown to me. My guess is that Radcliffe makes the grand with UConn and Wisco B fighting it out for the second qualifying spot. I'll go out on a limb and pick UConn as the second qualifier.

Heat 3 may be the fastest heat, with Sacred Heart, Carnegie Mellon, Wisconsin A, Pitt, and Susquehanna A. Again, Wisconsin is untested but we all know they'll be fast, particularly their A boat. Pitt, which won Murphy Cup, is tested and they are fast. Meanwhile, I think Carnegie Mellon gets the Hard Luck Award as they're in a two to move heat with two of the fastest boats in the regatta. CMU was second at Murphy Cup so they have some speed, but will it be enough? Susqhehanna, third at Murphy, is in second place for the Hard Luck Award. They've no doubt gained some speed since Murphy, but they'll need to have gained quite a bit to move on to the grand final. Sacred Heart, 6th at Murphy, will no doubt be hanging on for dear life in this one. I see Pitt and Wisco moving on to the grand.

In the eights, Dayton, Wisconsin, Buffalo, Temple, and Radcliffe B face off in Heat 1. This will be the debut of the Wisconsin eight and, although there are some good boats in this race, I expect them to be in control, working to stay safely ahead of the field while expending as little energy as possible. This won't be as easy as it may seem. Buffalo has already beaten Dayton by 8 seconds over 1500 meters, a loss that will help spur Dayton on. Radcliffe's 2V has shown speed with a victory over Georgetown's 2V. A young Temple boat will learn what it's like to play with the big girls. The schedule says three boats move on to the grand final, and my guess is Wisconsin, Buffalo, and Radcliffe, although Dayton could pull this one out.

Heat 2 will show us Lehigh, Georgetown, Radcliffe A, and Duquesne. We won't have to wait long for that Radcliffe-Georgetown rematch, but this won't be it. Both boats should pull away from Lehigh and Duquesne and unless bravado takes charge they won't be racing each other to the finish. Lehigh and Duquesne won't exactly be over the horizon, although I expect Lehigh will take the third qualifying spot.

Saturday finishes up with the frosh lightweight eight. Philadelphia, Radcliffe, Wisconsin, Princeton, and Georgetown are entered. The Radcliffe boat that dominated in the fall has one victory under its belt over Georgetown, while Princeton has beaten MIT and the Bucknell heavies. Wisconsin is untested but always fast. As for Philadelphia - Yo Philly! Welcome to your first varsity season! (I love to see new programs get their feet wet in races like this. It shows them what they can do with some hard work. And sometimes, you find a new program that has already put in the hard work, and they surprise everyone - this is a frosh event after all.) You've got to give the favorite label to Radcliffe, but I think this race is wide open.

The Princeton and Wisconsin (at least) frosh eights are also entered in the heavy frosh event. Unfortunately, just like last year, they are both in the same heat.

The finals are Sunday at 7:30am for the four and at 10:30am for the eight. (The times tell me that the Knecht Cup HAS NO IDEA what they have here.) Saturday looks like a decent day, weather wise, but Sunday looks like trouble. With wind and rain forecast, we may be lucky to have early morning races.

We have one of the best weekends of the season coming up. In the eights, we look forward to Wisconsin's debut and the Radcliffe-Georgetown rematch, while the fours will tell us just how fast Pitt really is. Rain or shine, it will be a great series of races.

A Tale of Two Emails

When the Knecht Cup schedule came out last night, two things jumped out at me immediately - the stacked third heat in the light fours (also noticed by at least one reader), and the absence of Georgetown in the regatta. Finding both a bit curious, I thought I would write the regatta director and Coach O'Connor to see if I could learn more.

Those of you who know the Knecht Cup regatta director are already chuckling, I'm sure. He is a bit, oh, shall we say, mercurial? Anyway, sometimes the devil on your shoulder gets the best of you, and I sent him an email wondering if the light four heats were seeded and, if so, how it was done. I noted that I thought the third heat was a bit stacked. Here is his response:

If coaches have a problem they can email or call me, I do not need an outside source jamming up my email. Also the schedule will not be final until tomorrow after the scratches, additions and it is reviewed.

Given that he responded at all, it was quite civil compared to what I thought might come my way. Actually, most people I write to outside of women's lightweight rowing view me as "an outside source jamming up my email." In any case, although this wasn't stated on the web site, the schedule is apparently not set. Since the squeaky wheel gets the grease, coaches can email the regatta director here.

As I mentioned, I was also surprised that Georgetown wasn't listed anywhere on the schedule. I wrote a quick email to Coach O'Connor asking why they didn't plan to race. I quickly received a response saying, "There was a mix-up in communication that has been addressed and we will be racing in Camden this weekend. We will be racing a Varsity Light 8, Varsity light 4, Frosh/Novice Light 8 and 2 Freshman 4s." Not that the other crews entered don't make a good field, but the more the merrier so this is great news. When I suggested that the Hoyas might be the favorites this weekend, Coach O'Connor politely pointed out the quality of the rest of the field, and in particular noted that as reigning national champions with a talented group of athletes, Wisconsin should be considered the favorites at every race until they lose. The response of a gentleman, and one in marked contrast to what we might expect to see in other sports.

UCF Releases Spring Schedule

The spring season is beginning to come into focus as UCF releases its spring schedule. Two races stand out - an April 7th race in Boston against Radcliffe, MIT, and Princeton and the Windermere Classic the following weekend on April 14th. Things tend to solidify closer to the season as other online schedules disagree with UCF's, but given that UCF has put out a press release, I'll assume they have the best information.



This is good racing for UCF as it gives them a couple of early opportunities to see their main competition before IRAs, with enough time in between to make some changes if need be. With this announcement too, it looks like Windermere may become the new Knecht Cup. At one time I thought Villanova might change the Knecht date but with Easter on April 8th and the A10 championships on April 21st, I'd say it's pretty much set. I wish UCF would also head north to Dad Vails since there aren't a lot of lightweights racing in the South/Central Regionals the same weekend. Nonetheless, you've got to hand it to the Golden Knights, they're going on the attack.





Technorati Tags: rowing

Knecht/Windermere Conflict

It appears that the Knecht Cup conflicts with the Windermere Classic this spring, as both are currently scheduled for April 14th. In the past we've seen some of the faster non-West Coast crews such as Radcliffe, Princeton, and Wisconsin race at Windermere and if they do so this year that will degrade the quality of the Knecht field. This later date is probably a better time for Windermere since the crews will have more water time in and will be closer to their end-of-season speed. When it was held earlier in the season, it was hard to draw any real conclusions from the results, although last year Radcliffe did sustain their top ranking after Windermere for quite some time. It's not clear who will race at Windermere, although Wisconsin has both Knecht and Windermere on their schedule and Princeton, Radcliffe, Stanford, and LMU raced there last year. If any two of Princeton, Wisconsin, or Radcliffe go to Winderemere over Knecht, I suspect the other will also go (I think we'll see at least these three in California).

Although it's still early and dates may change, I'm not entirely sorry to see the Knecht Cup broken up. While I think it was a good opportunity to get the best light eights racing each other before IRAs, I don't think the regatta understood what they had and therefore were unable to capitalize on it. The lightweight race was an elite event occurring in the midst of a Dad Vail level regatta. And I do mean the midst. The men's novice four final was later in the day than the light eight, for goodness sake. The downside is that some schools with fast lightweight boats and so-so heavyweight boats were more likely to race there because the whole team was making the trip. Windermere, on the other hand, can't be beat for atmoshpere and the excitement of a match race. Visiting crews are treated like royalty. Sometimes, when you are at the pinnacle of your sport, even rowing, it's nice to be treated with respect. Windermere does it, Knecht doesn't.

Knecht Cup – Upon Further Reflection…

In American rowing, the eights will always take precedence – they are big, fast, and glamorous, all things American. The eights at Knecht brought us some surprises and made for a fun race both to anticipate and to watch. The most interesting race last weekend, however, may have been the V4. The first reason this is so is because of its possible bearing on the eights. Princeton’s “Rule of Four” four’s decisive win in this race is proof that they are as deep as they’ve been saying. Depth is one thing, fast depth is another and Princeton seems to have both. This tells me one of two things – one is that the Tigers may be able to make (or plausibly threaten) some lineup changes which, when coupled with some hard work, could bring them more speed, or secondly, that the Tigers are in a better position to handle the injury or sickness that will inevitably occur over the course of the rest of the season.

The real story among the fours, though, is MIT. MIT was second, and has some open water to make up if they want to catch Princeton, but they beat some really good crews. Maybe most important to the Engineers (do they need a better nickname – Fightin’ Engineers?) is that they were able to beat hometown rival Radcliffe. MIT had a bit of trouble elsewhere with the V8 getting knocked out of the top ten and the frosh suffering equipment breakage, but the four shone. I wonder if MIT focused on that boat or on the eight? Or both? It’s easy to believe that any four rowers from a good eight will automatically make a good four, but that’s not always the case. As boats get smaller, technique, boat feel, and chemistry become more important. Those four rowers yanked out of the eight will beat a lot of fours, but at the top levels, where crews have been racing together for a while, it’s less likely. Make no mistake, the lightweight racing at Knecht was the best racing in the country last weekend. While the rest of the regatta played their reindeer games on the Cooper, the 2006 national champion, whoever that may be, was racing in the lightweight event. There were a couple of crews missing – Stanford, Cal, Bucknell, OSU – but this was the best the country has to offer in lightweight women’s rowing. I wonder if the regatta organizers understand that?

Another four that impressed was Carnegie Mellon, finishing 5th. They only lost to MIT and the perennial powers and beat all the Dad Vail crews entered. Losing to Pitt at the Murphy Cup appears to have lit a fire under their seats and they should be a force in Philadelphia. Speaking of Pitt, what happened there? They beat Lehigh and Villanova by 23 seconds at Murphy, but lost to both in their heat at Knecht. That’s more than a bad day so I think there’s more to the story. [Update: See comments for more on Pitt.]

One last thing; one FITD reader (who also has his own blog, First Light) noted that the women’s lightweight racing was the best of the day, saying his former coach always said women row better technically. I think this is true of lightweight rowing in general. No lightweight crew will win simply by having more meat in the boat. Because all rowers are the same size, technical ability becomes more important than ever. (This also means that lightweight coaches should be some of the best coaches around.) This is simply more evidence to suggest that when you have an assemblage of crews like that at the Knecht Cup, you’ll see the best rowing the country has to offer. And to think that Sprints, Dad Vails, and IRAs are still to come!

Knecht Cup Photos

More Knecht photos are now online. One thing is obvious - it's hard to get good pictures from the shore.

Make sure you look at this picture of Radcliffe rowing to the starting line. Check out the criss-cross grip they're using - is that the secret?

You'll find the petites as well as the grand finals, and even some freshmen.

Radcliffe Rules!

V8 Grand Final

Knecht Cup Sunday dawned clear and cold with a morning wind that wreaked havoc with starting line officials trying to get novice eights locked in at the start. There were some massive delays early on which resulted in the regatta running a couple of hours behind schedule almost from the start. The weather improved as the day went on, leaving the varsity eights and freshmen eights with decent water.

The petite final went off first, with URI winning it by 3 seconds over Radcliffe B who were followed 10 seconds later by Buffalo. Marist, MIT, and UMass rounded out the field. This result knocks MIT out of the top ten and brings a new face. Given the result of their four, MIT may be focused there rather than the eight.

Anticipation was high for the grand final. Teammates, parents, and rowing fans, those people attracted to all V8 grand finals, began to fill in the grandstands area as the start time drew near. The race started without an announcer, the two lightweight finals (men's and women's) being the only two V8 finals without commentary, so no real placing was discernible until the 1000 meter mark. As the boats came through the 1000, Radcliffe seemed pretty clearly to be up by perhaps open water over Princeton, and Wisconsin was a length or so back from the Tigers. I wasn't alone in my surprise at this situation as the conversation at the finish turned to Wisco's ability to catch Radcliffe. By the 750 mark it was obvious that this wasn't going to happen, and we realized that the blood feud was back. This race would be Radcliffe vs. Princeton to the wire. We'd seen this show before but would the outcome be the same?

Radcliffe, who had open water on the field at the halfway point, was overstroking Princeton at least for the last 1000 meters. The Tigers were the first to begin moving into their sprint with about 500 to go, a move that got Princeton a couple of seats. When Radcliffe started their sprint about 10 strokes later Princeton stopped moving and by 250 left Radcliffe wouldn't be denied. The Black and White beat Princeton by less than 4 seconds, with Wisconsin another 5 seconds back. Georgetown at fourth was 13 seconds off of Wisco, followed by UCF and Dayton.

This was a great Knecht Cup for these crews. It answered some questions but raised many others, and only whetted our appetites for what is yet to come. First question answered - Yes, Radcliffe is for real. Princeton's Windermere race wasn't exactly a fluke, but the Tigers did gain almost four seconds on Radcliffe over the course of two weeks. Well, guess what happens again in another three weeks - yup, Radcliffe vs. Princeton on Lake Carnegie. Whew, don't miss that one. What about Wisconsin? The Badgers often get off to a slow start because of those nasty winters they have in Madison, but that slow start doesn't usually include a third place finish at Knecht or a 9 second loss. For now anyway, there's definitely a new sheriff in town.

Georgetown assumed their customary position in fourth, but now UCF is snorting down their neck. I've said since the start of the year that UCF is coming on strong, and here they are. Meanwhile, Dayton makes it into the grand final, but at 20 seconds behind UCF is darn glad they won't be at Vails. A new face for this year, Buffalo, comes out of nowhere to beat Marist, MIT, and UMass.

By not racing today, Bucknell becomes a bit of a mystery. If the Bisons are really 7 seconds behind Princeton, that would put them in fourth place in the grand final. That's not the way the sport works, of course, so it's not clear where they fit. Now, as we head back to duals, and work toward sprints, more questions have been raised. Will Princeton further close the gap with Radcliffe? Will Wisconsin pick up speed rapidly as the weather warms and they get better water time? Will UCF catch Georgetown? Now the rankings get scrambled and the seasons moves on, with more drama than we bargained for just a month ago.


The freshmen also raced at Knecht, most meeting for the first time this season. Both Princeton and Wisconsin raced in the heavyweight freshmen event as well as the lightweight event, in the same heat no less. Princeton won the heat and moved on to the final, but neither crew was racing to its potential yet. In the frosh light eight race, Wisco moved out into the early lead with a strong start, and was about half a length up on Princeton at 500 meters. That was the last they'd see of the Tigers' backs, though, as Princeton moved through Wisco and never looked back as they hammered to a 9 second victory. Wisconsin was followed by Radcliffe and Georgetown, with MIT trailing the field badly after experiencing equipment breakage early in the race. Fifty minutes later Princeton was back on the course racing in the heavyweight final, in which they finished 4th in a field of 29. A three race day for the Tiger frosh.

[More photos to come]

Knecht Cup - Rule of Four(s)

V4 Grand Final

Princeton won the lightweight fours at the Knecht Cup with an 8 second victory over MIT, who was followed 3 seconds later by Radcliffe. Princeton appeared to be in control of this race at least from the 1000 meter mark, which is the first point spectators can really make out what's happening. The heat times showed MIT to be 30 seconds faster than the other two heat winners, a result that looked quite suspicious. [Update: See comment for an explanation.] That split proved false, but MIT didn't, turning in a fine second place result. Carnegie Mellon also turned in a good result, placing 5th in the grand final, just behind Wisconsin's A boat. Villanova in 6th, closed the gap to 7 seconds from 18 on CMU. This was a strong win for Princeton and shows the depth of the team. It also suggests that no seat is safe in the V8 since there are obviously some strong rowers in the four.

Princeton's B boat won the petites, followed by Georgetown and St. Joseph's. St. Joe's, by the way, appears to be racing a light four the rest of the season, not a light eight.

[A few more photos to come.]

UCF Boatings at Knecht

I thought UCF might bring all available lightweights into competition for the light eight for Knecht, but apparently they haven't. The three lightweights who have been racing heavyweight this season are listed as competing at the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship this weekend. This means that the Knecht UCF boat may not be its top light eight. Even if the current eight women are the fastest light eight, they'll gain more speed with the other rowers competing for seats. By IRAs I'm pretty sure UCF will have its fastest boat on the water. (I wonder if the heavyweight rowing lightweights have been keeping up their weigh-in paperz?)

Knecht Cup - Saturday

Saturday at the Knecht Cup

Did Noah's Ark use oars? It's never shown with oars or sails, and Noah seems like the kind of guy who would jump in and say, "The Lord is my helmsman, he'll take us where we need to go." It seemed like eights might have been better used as arks today in Camden as racing was halted for most of the afternoon as officials determined the best course of action. While there was constant rain and the wind was gusty, conditions didn't seem quite bad enough to require a racing delay. At the starting line, however, the wind was constant and coming at an angle that made lining up even varsity boats on the stakeboats impossible. For a time officials attempted floating starts with bows pointed into the wind (i.e. not straight down the course), but as boats turned back into their lanes with varying quickness, dangerous conditions prevailed and racing was stopped. Some races were canceled, V8s raced later in the day, and freshmen 8s will race in the morning. No sense getting into it too much since many of you who read this are there right now. This picture captures the spirit of the day - wet, windy, and muddy.

Knecht Cup - Eights

There are 13 light eights entered at the Knecht Cup, including two from Radcliffe. The top ten except Stanford and Bucknell are entered, plus Marist, St. Joseph's, UMass, and Buffalo. Stanford had been scheduled to attend, so their absence is a disappointment, although an understandable one. They just raced Wisconsin, Radcliffe, and Princeton and are unlikely to make a big dent in those splits by Knecht, so it makes some sense to save the trip and spend the time training. On the other hand, it would be nice for the rest of the field to gauge how fast the Cardinal really is this year. For seeding, the current FITD ranking would do well, although I think it will be upset by the time the weekend is over. Of the remaining four, I would guess that Marist or St. Joe's will be fastest. It's also disappointing to see Ohio State miss this race. They are an unknown right now, although when we see how Marist does we'll have a better idea of their speed. As I mentioned before, it's also disappointing not to see Penn State or Lehigh. Since they both are entering fours, I would suspect that they don't have light eights. On the other hand, they may put eights together for Dad Vail when the competition is less intense.

Some key questions to be answered:
- Is Wisconsin still fastest?
- Is Radcliffe for real (or was Princeton's Windermere row a fluke)?
- Is UCF for real?
- Can Dayton sustain last year's momentum?

The freshmen race at Knecht as well, with a five boat final including Radcliffe, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Princeton, and MIT. This should be an excellent race, with the boats coming in to it relatively unknown and untested.

Knecht Cup - Fours

The Knecht Cup has a healthy group of 17 light fours entered, including three from Princeton and two each from Wisconsin and Radcliffe. Three fours from Princeton suggests that they either have a really deep team or are doubling up varsity eight rowers. Some others also entering fours are Georgetown, MIT, CMU, and Pitt, winners at Murphy Cup. Regatta host Villanova, which has raced a light eight this year, is only racing a four, as is Lehigh, which was ranked number ten on the coaches lightweight eight poll. If they don't race an eight here, either they don't have an eight or they shouldn't be number ten. NC State is racing and they had some success in the four in the Fall. Penn State brings a four but no eight, which is disappointing because they had some success in the Fall with a light eight. UMass and Susqehanna round out the field.

This will be a rematch for all of the Murphy Cup competitors, which gives CMU, which lost to Pitt by 5 seconds at Murphy, another shot to close the gap. It doesn't quite look like the lanes are seeded because I think it unlikely that Wisco A would be seeded below UMass and NC State. On the other hand, host Villanova is in lane two, which suggests a seeding while at the same time giving them a favored lane should the wind kick up.

Knecht Cup Schedule

The Knecht Cup schedule is out. You should note that the lane assignments for the light eight are placeholders only - the event will be seeded. Other lane assignments are tentative.