The University of Delaware men’s crew team battled adverse weather conditions and displayed its depth as a program at the 79th annual Dad Vail Regatta, with six grand final berths, five medals and the men’s team point championship trophy.

The regatta, held May 12-13 in Philadelphia, featured more than 3,000 athletes from 130 colleges and universities and is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States. 

The varsity lightweight eight wrapped up a stellar season with a victory in the grand final. The crew of coxswain Tristan Snow (Class of 2018), Cooper Hurley (2018), Abi Light (2020), Jimmy McCullough (2019), Nathan Seidman (2018), Austin Buck (2020), Will Roman (2017), Mark Couwenhoven (2019) and Nicolas Pereira (2019) fell slightly back of Temple University in the first 500 meters of the race, but made a move with 1,500 meters to go and extended their lead on the field. The crew finished 1.8 seconds ahead of Temple to win the race.

In the 25-year history of the program, this was the program’s 10th consecutive and 12th overall medal in the men's varsity lightweight eight. The Hens won gold in 2009, 2013 and 2015, and earned silver from 2008-12 and in 2014 and 2016.

The varsity lightweight four earned the program’s first championship in the lightweight four event. The UD crew of coxswain Maggie Dolan (Class of 2019), Taylor Dough (2018), Brian Regan (2017), Brian Kungl (2019) and Will Beardell (2018) dominated their race out of the stake boats and lengthened their lead on the field through the middle 1,000 meters of the race. UD crossed the line 5.3 seconds ahead of Fordham University to win the race. 

“I’m very proud of our lightweight program today capping off a great season,” said coach Chuck Crawford in his 23rd year at the helm of the program. “We’re fortunate to have a young and deep group that continue to push one another to earn their places on the podiums. We didn’t have the best racing conditions, but all crews did a tremendous job focusing on rowing the best they could together and not letting any outside factors affect their rowing.” 

In one of the most exciting races of the day, UD’s varsity heavyweight eight continued to build upon late season speed to surprise the field. The crew came into the regatta as the seventh seed, but after developing late speed in the weeks preceding the regatta was able to earn a spot in the grand finals. In semifinal racing, the crew fought amongst second through fourth-place positions throughout the majority of the race, and was able to clip Marietta College by .4 seconds to move on to the grand finals. 

In the final, the crew of coxswain Jake Filby (Class of 2018), Patrick Johnson (2019), Grant Gaydosh (2018), Jamie Trunley (2018), Dane Malanoski (2019), Francis Field (2018), Evan Montreuil (2019), Patrick Canning (2018) and Nick Ruggerio (2018) shot out of the stake boats into the second place position early on. After Drexel University took the lead and St. Joseph’s University trailed close behind, the Hens made a move around 750 meters to go that solidified themselves on the podium. With 500 meters remaining, the crew was trading strokes with SJU for second place and nearly edged the Hawks, falling by only .16 seconds to grab the bronze medal.

The junior varsity heavyweight eight ended its successful season with a bronze medal in the grand final. The crew of coxswain Cole Appelman (Class of 2019), John Razzi (2019), Mike Bird (2017), Dylan Lamb (2019), Austin Craig (2017), Owen Bennett (2019), Prescott Weishaar (2019), Oliver Fraser (2019) and Jonathan Seel (2019) fought between second through fourth positions in the middle 1,000 meters of the race, but held on to edge Drexel by 1.9 seconds in the closing 500 meters to garner bronze.  

“I’m incredibly proud of the heavyweight program with their performances at the regatta,” said heavyweight coach Joe Kleiman in his 11th and final season with the program. “It’s bittersweet leaving this tremendous group of young and dedicated student-athletes as I retire from coaching, but I’m confident they will continue to add to the championship banners in the boathouse. It’s been a rewarding and amazing 11-year run, and I appreciate the rowers and coxswains making this all extra special with their bronze medal finishes.”

The freshmen lightweight eight also earned a bronze medal, racing up against heavyweight competition. The crew of coxswain Sally Tyre, Ben Gilbert, Dan Dryefus, Jake Novak, Luke Demers, Nate Virovoy, Harrison Poivey-Olson, Adam Donlan and Troy Bloesch, all of the Class of 2020, maintained their third place position in a close grand final.

UD’s third varsity eight just missed a medal in the grand final, but contributed points towards the men’s team trophy. The Hens’ junior varsity four, varsity four, freshman four and Collegiate 1X all earned berths in the second finals and finished fourth, first, fourth and fourth, respectively. 

The UD team edged Drexel University to earn its first men’s team point trophy since 2011. The Hens finished second in the overall points trophy, coupled with grand final performances from the University of Delaware women’s rowing varsity eight, junior varsity eight, third varsity eight, freshman four and varsity four. 

The season continues for select crews traveling to the ACRA National Championships May 27-28 in Gainesville, Georgia. For more information on the team, visit the website.