Rutgers Traveled to Shamokin Dam PA to kick off the racing season with ACRA Rivals Bucknell, Virginia and Michigan. Testing the teams early season speed against these strong rivals is a great way to either establish your place in the ranking or realize you have work to do before the end of the season.

This weekend was a mix of both those results. The Varsity 8 had a very strong showing all weekend. Beating Michigan and Bucknell and hanging on to the current #1 ranked Virginia was a great way to start the season. With a few weeks of sharpening up and race experience the coaches are confident we can be right there with them.

The Freshman 8 had a great showing this weekend and cut their teeth on a tough weekend where they won a race by lengths, had to fight from behind in rough conditions and won a race from behind in the last 150 meters! The highlight of the weekend was the win for this boat over Michigan by 0.18 seconds (2.5 feet for those who are counting). Great racing and a very encouraging result early from this heavily novice crew.

The 3V8 had stiff competition from last years 3V8 champion (Bucknell) and perennial podium finishers in the 3V8 Michigan and Virginia. With a crew who has a few novice rowers in it and is at a significant horsepower deficit to most 3V8s the Red Team was able to hang with the defending champs and other podium regulars though most of the race. With a few more weeks of training, race prep, and development of the higher rating parts of the race they are confident they will be in the hunt for hardware later in the season.

The comeback story of the weekend was the 2V and the 4V 8s. The 2V after having some disappointing results on Saturday rallied on Sunday to start to show some of the speed we hoped and knew they would find this season. Racing a very strong Michigan 2V to a closed water finish at the end of a long weekend showed the dedication and grit we knew was in the crew. A few more weeks of development and we are sure they will end up on the correct side of that race. 4V8 or more appropriately 2F8 (with an experienced coxswain and one experienced rower in the boat) had a tough time with some very rough conditions though the middle of their races on Saturday. On Sunday however these guys dug in and were able to beat a crew they had previously lost to and put down a very impressive race piece.

To put a cap on the weekend the coaches are "Happy" or as happy as coaches ever are!

The top crews get ready for a fast weekend with long time rivals Columbia, and the lower boats prepare for the next ACRA showdown at the George Washington Invite in 2 weeks.

UPSTREAM RED TEAM