Rowing Concludes Weekend at Knecht Cup Regatta

Saturday, April 11

Cherry Hill, N.J.

West Virginia University

Knecht Cup Regatta

April 13, 2026 02:35 PM | Rowing

By: Farris Murad

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rowing team competed at the Knecht Cup Regatta on April 11-12 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The event, held on the Cooper River, included a field of Boston U., Boston College, Bryant, Bucknell, Canisius, Colgate, Connecticut, Delaware, Drexel, Eastern Michigan, Embry-Riddle, Fairfield, George Mason, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Iona, Jacksonville, La Salle, Lehigh, MIT, Marist, Massachusetts, Mercyhurst, Merrimack, Monmouth, Radcliffe, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Saint Joseph's, Temple, Thomas Jefferson, UAlbany, Villanova and Wisconsin, as well as Big 12 Conference affiliate Old Dominion.

Racing on Saturday was done in a cross tailwind that caused delays and issues in the start line area. Racing on Sunday went much smoother and was done in a light headwind. This large early season race allowed for multiple opportunities to race and to help with seeding of boats moving into the main portion of the racing season.

"Not unlike many teams, we're still working through different lineup combinations among our crews," coach Jimmy King said. "The larger regattas we're attending this year are providing valuable, multiple racing opportunities for our young team this season to learn and develop. We'll take the lessons learned this weekend and apply them over the next two weeks as we work towards the Lake Wheeler Invite."

The second varsity four opened racing for the Mountaineers and featured three WVU entries. West Virginia's 2V4 A finished third in Heat 3 with a time of 8:18.61, putting them just out of the grand finals. In the Petite Final 1, it claimed sixth with a time of 8:49.75. The 2V4 B placed second behind Drexel in the first heat with a time of 8:35.91 and later took second in the Petite Final 2 behind UConn. The 2V4 C raced in the third heat and finished fourth with a time of 8:49.89. This time advanced them to the Petite Final 2, where they placed sixth with a time of 9:25.59.

"The fours group took full advantage of the multiple races to develop and further their race plans and tenacity," associate head coach Tina Griffith said. "I am really proud of their willingness to embrace and work through all the challenges presented over the weekend and to come out successful."

In the fifth heat of the 1V4, WVU had a lead over Georgetown but a poor stroke in the last moments of the race allowed Georgetown to pass them. The Mountaineers were afforded the opportunity for redemption in semi 2 where they were side by side with Georgetown. They were able to handily beat the Hoyas, but in a back and forth race for placement in the grand finals, they were edged out by Eastern Michigan (7:46.99) and Wisconsin (7:47.68) in a very close race, finishing with a 7:48.98. The Mountaineers pulled out a first-place finish in the Petite Final 1 with a time of 8:29.2.

The first heat of the 3V8 featured a Mountaineer boat that finished fifth with a time of 7:46.07 which kept them out of the Grand Final for their race, which was the only final for that event.

The 2V8 had a decent race in its heat, taking fourth with a time of 7:09.68 to advance to Semi-Final 3 on Sunday morning. The Mountaineers struggled in their semi, finishing sixth with a time of 8:07.18. This placed them in Final 3 where they claimed sixth with a time of 7:36.47.

The West Virginia 1V8 boat had a rough time in their heat, which featured familiar foes from the Sarasota 2k. They finished the race with a time of 7:03.47, putting them in fifth place. The lackluster performance sent them directly to Final 4 on Sunday. A significantly better race on Sunday showed improvements, completing the race with a time of 6:58.51 and closed the gap in relation to Drexel, who they also competed against in Sarasota.

The Knecht Cup marked the second meeting this season between the Mountaineers and Boston College, Drexel, Jacksonville, Massachusetts, UAlbany and Big 12 affiliate Old Dominion.

More information about the Knecht Cup Regatta can be found HERE. WVU Results can be found HERE.

Knecht Cup Lineups
Boat               Rowers (stroke to bow w/ coxswain)
1V8                 Nikolina Djordjevic, Lydia Harris, Kate Conard, Teegan Wendley, Tessa Naldzin, Sara Knezevic,
                        Alexis Mitchell and Alanna Dunnigan w/ Grace Terlion

2V8                 Lucille Pratt, Raquel Iga, Brooke Plummer, Una Ilic, Mia Samardzija, Emma Higgins, Jessica Gaston,
                         and Lauren Mueller w/ Grace Holliday

3V8                 Annabelle Wagner, Nicole Barringer, Beverly Staples, Morgan Ryan, Claire Trevisani,
                        Kelsey McTaggart, Quinn Ray and Greta Giuliano w/ Giada Fassacesia

1V4                 Lauren Jones, Mary Boone, Addison Dobson and Grace Gonet w/ Grace Fay

2V4 A              Hope Deegan, Melisse Huguet, Isabelle Totton and Mariella Wilson w/ Lauren Keyser

2V4 B              Campbell Gettier, Olivia Martens, Gretchen Ham and Josephine Mittner w/ Emily Gubbins

2V4 C              Samantha Spencer, Erin Carmicle, Emerson Riley and Nicole Barringer w/ Olivia Pennington