Knecht Cup 2026
This past weekend, April 11th-12th, the Aggies went down to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to compete in the Knecht Cup Regatta. The Aggies competed in the Varsity 8+, Novice 4+, and Novice 8+ categories. The Aggies brought home some hardware, in the first national regatta of the spring season.
The weather on the Cooper River was warm with a high of 65 degrees. There were windy conditions for the later races both Saturday and Sunday and the direction of the wind switched between tailwind and crosswind.
The races began with heats on Saturday.
1V8+: 2nd
The Varsity 8+, featuring Chad Zannotti(Coxswain), Daniel Smith(stroke), Luka Lasic(7), Ryan Tessitore(6), and Ryan Greenwood (5), Eddie Keen (4), Augustus Elam(3), Ahaan Singh(2), and West Williams(bow), put up a strong showing in their heats, coming in two minutes faster than the boats behind them. They went on to the Petite Finals where they placed 2nd in the tough race with a time 15 seconds better than their heats.
1N8+: 2nd
Next, the first Novice boat, the Novice 8+, featuring Abby Quinby(Coxswain), Parker Cole(stroke), Marcus Rooney (7), Allesandro Iavarone(6), Hector Munoz(5), Shane Hess(4), Corbin Howard(3), Henry Wilson-Winter(2), and Sam Haynes(bow), raced to the first-best time in the Novice 8+ heats, allowing them to race in the Grand Final, where they came in with a strong second place finish.
1N4+: 11th
The next Novice boat was the Novice 4+, featuring Oumniya Benalia(Coxswain), Josh Mastromatteo(stroke), Ryan Perry(3), David Leroy(2), and Derrick Chung(bow) placed 3rd in their competitive heat which consisted of D1 boats.
The Aggies look to continue to build speed, just one month out from ACRA, at Patriots Cup in Storrs, CT next weekend.
