PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – Colgate's Varsity Eight secured a grand final appearance for the second time in three years, helping the women's rowing team close out the 2024-2025 season by finishing sixth in the Patriot League Championship on Friday at Cooper River.

MORNING HEATS

Second Varsity Four
Colgate started up the 2025 Patriot League Championship in the second heat of the second varsity four event. Colgate's entry, coxed by Olivia Larsen, reached the petite final against Loyola and Lehigh after crossing fourth in the heat with a time of 8:37.219.

• By 750 meters into the race, MIT took the early lead, with Georgetown following close behind, and Holy Cross and Colgate competed for third to qualify for the grand final.
• Holy Cross managed to walk a boat length up on the Raiders at the 1000-meter mark, and eventually reached an open water gap between the two crews within the next 500 meters.
• With MIT crossing the line first in 8:04.364 and Georgetown following three seconds after, the Crusaders clinched the final qualifying position for the grand final, besting Colgate's crew by 16 seconds.
• Lehigh and Loyola fell in heat one of the event, finishing with times of 8:43.326 and 9:05.006 respectively, and will face the Raiders in the petite final.

First Varsity Four
The Raiders' 1V4 found the water again in the petite final of the event after finishing fourth in their heat with a time of 8:45.444. The crew, coxed by first year Victoria Reale, faced Lehigh and Loyola in the afternoon.

• Navy was quick off of the start line and showed its dominance over the rest of the crews by the 500-meter mark, while being followed by Georgetown, Holy Cross, and then Colgate. 
• Colgate fought for the third qualifying position with Holy Cross, but the Crusaders pushed ahead of the other crew, leaving Colgate to face an open water gap between them and the rest of the competition.
• Similar to the 2V4, Colgate's 1V4 faced Lehigh and Loyola in their second race of the day, after the teams crossed in fourth and fifth at 8:06.742 and 8:52.752 in the first heat.

Second Varsity Eight
Seniors Kyleigh Russo, Chloe Sakowski, and Meredith Francis launched for the final time in their Colgate careers in the petite final of the second varsity eight event after clocking in fourth in their heat with a time of 7:16.949. The Raiders, for the third time, faced Lehigh and Loyola in the petite final.

• The second heat of the second varsity four event demonstrated close competition as the crews had strong starts within seats of each other, and by 500 meters in, each of the crews still held contact with one another.
• Colgate and Holy Cross pushed off one another for the third position, while Georgetown and MIT extended their lead on the other crews.
• The crews continued to battle it out through the 1000-meter mark, with Holy Cross executing their race plan and overtaking the Raiders by less than half of a boat length.
• The Crusaders continued to extend their lead through the finish, making their way to the grand final with a time of 07:07.502, leaving Colgate in the petite final with Lehigh and Loyola.

Varsity Eight
Colgate's 1V8 wrapped up morning racing by earning a spot in the grand final of the first varsity eight event with their time of 6:53.254. The crew faced incredibly tight competition with Navy, MIT, and Boston University, as all four crews finished with times less than a second off of each other in the heats.

• The second heat of the varsity eight event started off with all crews being within two seats of each other, however Colgate fell short on the start and had to make up for the meters lost.
• By the 500-meter mark, coxswain Katherine Metcalf helped her crew through their recovery, pushed them back into contention for the top three qualifying positions, and kept chipping away at the Midshipmen to gain a slim lead over the other crew.
• While Holy Cross tapered off from the rest of the crews, the halfway point demonstrated the depth and strength found within the first varsity eight event, and Colgate found themselves in a three-boat race with MIT and Navy.
• After a tight 250-meter sprint, the Raiders held their lead against the Midshipmen, and were edged out of the first place position by the Engineers by a mere 0.28 seconds.
• The 1V8 saw the grand final for the second time in the last three league championships, after placing sixth at the 2023 Patriot League Championship. They faced Navy and MIT for the second time, and Boston University, Georgetown, and Bucknell for the first time of the day.

AFTERNOON FINALS

Second Varsity Four
Colgate's 2V4 kicked off the afternoon in the second varsity four petite final against Lehigh and Loyola. The crew, stroked by junior Talya Djemil, put up a fight against the Mountain Hawks for first place, but ultimately crossed the finish line second with a time of 9:05.958.

• There was early separation from all crews with Lehigh taking an early boat length advantage on Colgate, who had open water on third place position, Loyola.
• At the 500-meter mark, the Raiders managed to walk up half of a boat length on Lehigh and opened the gap between them and the Greyhounds to a full boat length of open water.
• The crew accelerated through the 1000-meter mark to put themselves bow-to-bow with the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh answered Colgate's call, made a move that gave them a slight edge over the Raiders, and used that momentum to take back that half of a boat length lead.
• The Raiders posted a strong sprint, but it did not match the Mountain Hawks as they crossed the line first with a time of 9:02.093. Colgate defeated the Greyhounds by 29 seconds.

First Varsity Four
Colgate's 1V4 took second in the petite final of the first varsity four event, finishing with a time of 9:02.433. 

• Lehigh, similarly to their 2V4, put distance between themselves and the other crews within the first 500 meters. Colgate's 1V4 started down a quarter of a boat length on Loyola, but with every stroke the lead the Greyhounds had was shortened.
• Victoria Reale coxed the boat through a move at the 1000-meter mark that eliminated any lead Loyola had on the Raiders and continued to compete bow-to-bow.
• As the final 500 meters approached, junior Sarah Regner stroked the boat to an open water lead over the Greyhounds to secure a second place finish.
• The Mountain Hawks clocked in first at 8:42.637, Colgate 19 seconds later at 9:02.433, and Loyola who followed at 9:12.333.

Second Varsity Eight
Colgate's 2V8 found themselves in a similar position as the fours as they earned second in the petite final, crossing the finish at 7:37.237. 

• Managing difficult weather conditions proved to be a seamless task for senior coxswain, Kyleigh Russo, who's racing line contributed to the crew's early lead on both Lehigh and Loyola.
• By the 500-meter mark, Colgate held just over half of a boat length lead on the Mountain Hawks and open water on the Greyhounds. 
• The Raiders continued to maintain their lead on Lehigh, even as the other crew made a move that diminished that lead.
• 500 meters left, Lehigh pulled out all the stops, and surged ahead of Colgate for a bow-to-stern lead. 
• Colgate fell short in their sprint by five seconds to Lehigh's final time of 7:31.397. The boat also had a gap of over 40 seconds between them and Loyola.

Varsity Eight
The Raiders' 1V8 officially closed out the 2025 spring season as they placed fifth in the grand final with a final time of 6:56.647. Senior captain, Natalie McCall, has crossed the finish line for her first, and last, time in the grand final of the varsity eight event, with juniors Katherine Metcalf, Marie Clausen, and Rebecca Carew crossing for the second time since 2023.

• Defending champions, Boston University, jumped out to an early lead on all crews with MIT, Bucknell, and Georgetown fighting for the other two spots on the podium. Colgate held their own against Navy for the fifth place position, and set their sights on Bucknell who started to fall slightly behind the leading crews.
• The Raiders still found themselves down by open water on the top four crews by the 1000-meter mark.
• Coming up on the last 250 meters, the crew crept up on Bucknell and tried to take the fourth place position as their own. The boat ran out of water as Bucknell edged them out for fourth place by one second.

Boston University defended their title as first varsity eight champions, as well as Patriot League Champions (289.5), and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Georgetown (267) surpassed MIT (263.5) for finishing second in points, followed by Navy with 204 points and Bucknell with 193 points to round out the top five.

Colgate Lineups

1V8+
Katherine Metcalf (C), Marie Clausen, Natalie McCall, Elena Myatt, Rebecca Carew, Audrey Brogan, Ellie Givertz-Steel, Sophia Cerroni, Stella Curcio

2V8+
Kyleigh Russo (C), Sophie Kerr, Harper Hoffman, Sarah Slember, Claire Chesnut, Martha Emswiler, Chloe Sakowski, Grace Ciaravino, Meredith Francis

1V4+
Victoria Reale (C), Sarah Regner, Morgan McClutchy, Sarah Beth Sandifer, Anya Suko

2V4+
Olivia Larsen (C), Talya Djemil, Lael Gott, Niamh Mahon, Alice Araneo

2025 Patriot League Women's Rowing Major Awards

Boat of the Year: Boston University Varsity Eight
Coach of the Year: Malcolm Doldron, Boston University

2025 Patriot League Rowing Championship Results

1. Boston University - 289.5
2. Georgetown - 267
3. MIT - 263.5
4. Navy - 204
5. Bucknell - 193
6. Colgate - 131
7. Holy Cross - 127.5
8. Lehigh - 66.5
9. Loyola - 55.5