KP Rowing-Knecht Cup Regatta – April 12-13, 2008

Kings Point Rowing
United States Merchant Marine Academy
Knecht Cup Regatta – April 12-13, 2008
Team results

The Kings Point rowing Mariners met some stiff competition at the Knecht Cup Regatta in Cherry Hill, NJ over the weekend. This is one of largest spring competitions for college rowing, attracting over 50 schools from Maine to Florida and as far west at Wisconsin.

The Women’s Pair of Meagan Fahey ’08 and Erin Mitchell ’08 was the only Kings Point crew to make the finals. During a hard fought battle in the heats, the pair was able to finish 3rd which earned a birth in the final. Having won last week at the Manhattan Invitational, the pair was hoping to finish in the medals this week. “They really rowed well amongst this tough competition. This is the first time that a Kings Point women’s crew has made the final in this regatta.” commented Coach Derek Hartwick after the race. The crew will have two weeks to hone their racing skills in an attempt to win the Metropolitan championships.

“Our Men’s Novice Four rowed with such heart and great effort on Saturday” said coach Hartwick. The Kings Point Novice has had a tradition of doing well in the Knecht Cup. “The guys did their best to keep the tradition going but simply met very fast crews” Finishing 6th in their heat, the crew of Coxswain Robert Kaldenbach Stroke-Andrew Pfarner, 3-Scott Norris, 2-Tyler Hathcote ’10, and Bow-Romulus Cirone ’10 were unable to earn a spot in the final. The winner of their heat eventually went on to finish 2nd in the final race.

The Men’s Varsity Four of Coxswain Sarah Jones ’08, Stroke- Kyle O’Connor ’10 ‘10, 3- Steven Jones ’10, 2- Sam Diedrick ’10, and Bow- Jeremy Tunstall ‘10, raced well in their heat but narrowly missed making the final by 1.8 seconds. The crew nearly didn’t get to race when O’Connor experienced a sickness the day before the race and was barely able to complete the heat. “They raced well and will get faster for the next race”said Coach Daniel Udeanu, disappointed that his crew just missed making the final. With 5 crews finishing within 6 seconds of each other in the heats, it was tight to get into the final and the Kings Pointers were unfortunately on the short end of the stick.