More than 1,500 spectators were in attendance this past Saturday at the Quadricentennial Poughkeepsie Regatta, hosted by Marist College. Among the participants at the competition were Ivy League members Penn and Columbia, as well as Division I teams Navy and Army. The Red, however, drew most of the attention at Poughkeepsie by winning three medals in as many events.

After a strenuous four-mile race, the women’s varsity-eight took the gold medal home with a time of 24:39.5, while Syracuse took the silverware (25:05.73) and Penn the bronze (26:18.23).Never forget the Red: The women’s Varsity-8 boat finished the Poughkeepsie course in 24:39.50, more than 25 seconds faster than the second-place finishers from Syracuse.

The men’s heavyweight varsity-eight also took first place, rowing from Roger’s Point in Hyde Park to the Mid-Hudson Bridge in 23:15.5. Behind came Army (24:02.92) and local favorites Marist (24:11.34).

“Before the competition started, our expectation was to have a good race,” said senior captain Christopher Frendl. The race was quite a challenge for the team, for they had never participated in a four-mile event before.

“Some important factors in our victory were our ability to handle the weather of the Hudson River and our physical condition to endure the entire race,” Frendl said. The Red came close of winning the three events, but the men’s lightweight varsity-eight (23:51.57) couldn’t beat Navy’s time of 23:25.11 for the gold medal.

After such strong athletic performances, Cornell’s rowing varsities are looking forward to repeating their success on their next official competition scheduled on Saturday, October 18. The Red will visit Boston, Massachusetts to participate in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta.

“We have high expectations for the regatta,” Frendl said. “Because we are working hard and our team’s relationship is developing really well.”