The Knecht Cup Regatta brought 390 crews to Camden, N.J.’s Cooper River racecourse for two days of six-lane racing over heats, semifinals, and finals in breezy, sunny conditions, April 11-12.
Reigning Division-III men’s national champion Trinity College (Conn.) successfully defended their Knecht Cup varsity eight title from last year, beating Division-I MIT by less than a second. Purdue, second in last year’s ACRA club national championship, finished third, with La Salle, Temple, and Embry-Riddle filling out the grand final. Trinity’s second and third varisty eights took first and second in the DII/DIII varsity eights event.
“The team had a great weekend in New Jersey and are honored to earn victories in two events,” said Trinity head coach Kevin MacDermott. “The racing was intense, every crew learned a ton, and the weather was gorgeous.”
Radcliffe women’s lightweight eight won the women’s varsity eight grand final over UMass in second and Bucknell in third. Boston College, Temple, and the Boston University lightweight varsity rounded out the grand final of the event that attracted 34 entries from across the country.
“We are growing the event. We’ve added trophies, honoring very special legends in the rowing community, and also adding some Para events,” said regatta director Laura Knecht Blanche.
The regatta is named for Bill Knecht, the Olympic champion oarsman who won in the 1964 U.S. men’s eight, served as president of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen (a precursor to USRowing). co-founded the National Rowing Foundation, and developed the Cooper River rowing course.
Newly named trophies will recognize the legacy and impact of Albert P. Wachlin, Lois Trench-Hines, Mark Valenti, and Ann and Marie Jonik, among others.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Kemp Savage, who brought his Eastern Michigan University squad to gain valuable racing experience before the Mid-American Conference championships, an automatic qualifier for the NCAA championship. “With the AQ being the thing that everyone looks for from the MAC teams, all this practice and focus to get out here and get three good races in, six-wide, that’s, for us, really something we needed.”
“I’m looking for continuing to open up the regatta to invite more teams to make the racing as great as it can be,” said Blanche.
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