After a disappointing sixth place performance at last year’s Knecht Cup, Duke’s first varsity eight boat had a little extra motivation heading to the Cooper River last weekend.
With a 1.29-second win over Bucknell in the varsity eight championship heat, the Blue Devils sealed their most successful weekend in Camden, N.J., in the last three years.
“At 500m we had a lead on them, and then in the sprint we opened it up a little more,” junior Katie Burke said. “It was kind of a redemption race for us. We wanted to come in here and show people what we are made of.”
The top varsity eight boat paved the way for its final run by breezing through the first heat and then dominating the semifinal run—where the second place boat finished over 14 seconds after the Blue Devils.
“When you’re in a three-race format... sometimes teams just do the bare minimum to just get through,” Duke head coach Robyn Horner said. “Because we’re trying to get ready for ACCs next weekend, we tried to approach the races as the actual ACC race and just go as hard as we could even though there was a heat and a semifinal.”
Not only did the Blue Devils’ top boat take first place, but the second varsity eight grabbed second place in its own championship heat, losing to Bucknell’s second boat by less than a second.
“The [second varsity] has been struggling a little bit since the beginning of the season, so it was really pleasing to put together three solid races,” senior Breanna Briede said. “Today was exciting because we rowed the fastest race we ever have, and it was an exciting comeback from being down at the start to losing by less than one second.”
The second varsity eight advanced to the championship heat after coasting through its first two heats. The boat recorded its fastest time of the weekend in the final, but could not catch up to the Bison down the stretch, finishing .97 seconds behind.
“For our program that was a highlight,” Horner said. “That’s the best finish the second varsity has ever had at the Knecht Cup. When it comes down to that close of a race obviously you want to be on the other end of it. We felt really good about the race and felt like it was strong, but just couldn’t get them right at the end.”
Duke’s varsity four boat finished second in the petite final—eighth place overall. The Blue Devils’ freshman boat also finished sixth in the petite final.
“This was probably our best team performance for sure [in the Knecht Cup],” Horner said. “Last year our varsity four did a little bit better than they did this year, but overall having the one and the two boats up in the top was a highlight for us.”
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