ACRA 2025
The men's Crew make history as they wrap up their racing season in the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, from May 16 to 18.
The boys took two boats out on the water for the regatta; the men's pair and a varsity four.
In day one, the crew takes out the varsity four in a time trial for their first race. The crew consists of Cooper Wilhelm (Stroke), Vaughan Popp, Daniel Gibbs, and Colin Reilly, with Riley Hobbs as the coxswain. They finished their race with a time of 5:55.906 at tenth place, qualifying them for the ABC semifinals in the top 18.
Next up was heat race for Rowan Dupras and Jacob Hunter in the men's pair. The boys rowed long and strong in the race, holding second place in the duration. When all of a sudden, at the last 250 meters in the race, Hunter catches a crab in the water, causing the pair's boat to capsize. As frustrated as they were, they gets back on their boat and finish the race at last place with 10:00.088 on the clock.
Dupras and Hunter make up for past mistakes in day two of the regatta, moving on to the CD semifinals of their race. And make up they did, as the pair gained a massive lead in the race, giving them their first place win at 7:49.351, as they move on to the C finals of the race.
The varsity four pushes forth in the ABC semifinals of the regatta. At the halfway mark of the race, the crew fights hard to maintain their third place spot in the race. But at the last 500, the crew begins to pick up the pace, not letting any of the other crews get the chance of catching up to them. Eventually, the varsity four finished in third in the race, with a time of 6:58.205, and move on to the B finals on the last day of the regatta.
In comes the final day of races in the regatta and for the Beach Crew to make their mark in the National Championships.
Dupras and Hunter kick off their last men's pair race in the regatta by gaining a strong lead in the C Finals. A flawless win from the pair as they take home first place with an official time of 7:44.161, even placing themselves at 13th in the nation.
The same can be said for the varsity four as they face off against other crews in the B Finals race, while holding for first place in the last 500 of the race. After all their efforts, the crew claims their first place win in the regatta with an official time of 6:56.688.
The Beach Crew, in the beginning, faced some setbacks in their races, and yet they still pushed on, showing how nothing would stand in their way from all their hard work and dedication in the sport.