Women’s Rowing Advances All Five Boats to Grand Finals

Friday, May 8

Cooper River / Cherry Hill, N.J.

8:10 a.m.

Drexel University

Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta

Women’s Rowing Advances All Five Boats to Grand Finals

5/8/2026 6:10:00 PM | Women's Rowing

CHERRY HILL, N.J. — The Drexel women's rowing team advanced all five boats to the Grand Finals at the 87th Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta Friday. The Varsity 8+, 2nd Varsity 8+, 3rd Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ will all race for gold tomorrow.

The V8+ finished second in semifinal one and will look for its third straight gold medal tomorrow. Rowing in the 1990 V8+, Lauren Shaw (Coxswain), Ariana Townsend (Stroke), Zoe Page, Jaelyn Walsh, Hannah Walseth, Sabrina Batdorf, Alyssa Bucci, Michaela Werber and Lily Gramlich (Bow) crossed the line in 6:41.210, finishing 4.8 seconds behind Temple. The Dragons posted the sixth-fastest time overall.

The 2V8+ team of Erin Ernst (Coxswain), Clara Leimkuhler (Stroke), Ria Jones, Lila Seidenberg, Heather Humes, Valeria Sanango, Olivia Duffy, Lauren Boyce and Kieran Harrington (Bow) rowed Jim & Toni Downey to a second place finish. The crew came home four seconds behind the Owls with a time of 6:55.460.

The Varsity 4+ team claimed the top spot in its semifinal, earning the race victory with a time of 6:41.420. The Dragons finished 4.3 seconds ahead of Oklahoma City and earned the fastest overall time heading into the Grand Final.

The 3V8+ team set the fastest pace of the four boats in its time trial, posting a time of 6:48.157. The Dragons crossed nearly six seconds ahead of Georgetown. In the V1x semifinal, Sarah Ghazaz also turned in the top overall time, rowing to a mark of 9:03.030.

Action from the Cooper River will continue tomorrow with the V1x at 12:10 p.m.

Full Schedule

Semi-Final Results
Varsity 8+
1. Temple — 6:36.420
2. Drexel — 6:41.210
3. Fordham — 6:43.830
4. La Salle — 6:47.320
5. Western Ontario — 6:55.080
6. Merrimack — 7:23.450

2nd Varsity 8+
1. Temple — 6:51.440
2. Drexel — 6:55.460
3. Fordham — 7:04.230
4. UAlbany — 7:23.990
5. Merrimack — 8:24.110

Varsity 4+
1. Drexel — 7:25.820
2. MIT — 7:29.730
3. Georgetown — 7:35.880
4. Robert Morris — 7:39.400
5. Florida Tech — 7:41.560
6. Fordham — 8:18.690

Varsity 1x
1. Sarah Ghazaz (Drexel) — 9:03.030

Lineup
Varsity 8+
Shell: 1990 V8+
Coxswain: Lauren Shaw
Stroke: Ariana Townsend
7: Zoe Page
6: Jaelyn Walsh
5: Hannah Walseth
4: Sabrina Batdorf
3: Alyssa Bucci
2: Michaela Werber
Bow: Lily Gramlich

2nd Varsity 8+
Shell: Jim & Toni Downey
Coxswain Erin Ernst
Stroke: Clara Leimkuhler
7: Ria Jones
6: Lila Seidenberg
5: Heather Humes
4: Valeria Sanango
3: Olivia Duffy
2: Lauren Boyce
Bow: Kieran Harrington

3rd Varsity 8+
Shell: Alleva XVII
Coxswain: Grace Demers
Stroke: Marley Kronemeyer
7: Maddie Kristel
6: Audrey Swain
5: Giulia Nevrotski
4: Sammy Madarang
3: Paige McFadden
2: Charlotte Bentrim
Bow: Emerson Donahue

Varsity 4+
Shell: Laura Ludwick White
Coxswain: Katie O'Donnell
Stroke: Kari Prosperi
3: Hazel Danko
2: Paige Hartshorn
Bow: River Trotter

V1x
Sarah Ghazaz