On April 18 and 19, Clemson Crew took on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the annual championship regatta of Southern collegiate rowing teams, at the SIRA Regatta. The club team took home three medals overall, as well as a heap of A- and B-final finishes across both the men’s and women’s squads.
The women’s side of the club team performed the unthinkable, winning its third consecutive SIRA title in the women’s varsity 8+ category. The cup will stay in Clemson, where it has been earned over the past three seasons, in what has been an unusual year for the women’s team.
“We had 7 varsity women rowers and had to bring up a novice just to make an 8+,” rower Hattie Segelken explained. “Because we had only the exact amount we needed, we could barely practice our lineup until the two weeks leading up to SIRA, so it was pretty stressful.”
The smaller varsity women’s team persevered to maintain excellent results, led by coach Adam Bruce’s unwavering support. By keeping each practice focused and led by hard work, Segelken asserted that the varsity women were “all just really determined to live up to previous years!”
With that focus, the varsity women’s squad kept their claim as queens of the South, with their results and training showing for themselves.
“I definitely hope it becomes the standard,” Segelken beamed. “For me personally, doing so well in what was maybe considered a slower season really makes me motivated for next year. We plan to keep the cup for as long as we can now!”
The Clemson women’s varsity 8+ is currently ranked No. 8 in the April 22 ACRA ranking, according to Row2k. Segelken, alongside rowers Maggie Gossett, Lillian Kreise, Madaleine Erskine, Mia Luciano, Rachael Harned, Emily Disper, Charlotte Loa-Saldaña and coxswain Ava Syragakis, looks to capitalize on their title at ACRA in May.
Not only is this three-peat an accomplishment in itself, but the women’s team for Clemson Crew has only been building for the future, especially through its novice squad, which has excelled all fall and spring. The novice women themselves took two eights to the A-final for the women’s novice 8 category at SIRA, seeing third and sixth place finishes in their two lineups.
“I am so excited for the novice women to join varsity next season,” Segelken stated. “The novice women are a strong, hardworking squad who really love the sport and seem eager to learn! I can’t wait to row with them; their strength and great attitudes will make our squad even more competitive in the coming years.”
The novice women’s 1N8+ is ranked fifth in the April 22 ACRA rankings, demonstrating a strong women’s program across Clemson Crew at all levels.
The men’s team saw a variety of success on Melton Hill Lake over the weekend, with a fourth-place finish in the Men’s double, fifth-place in the Men’s Varsity 4+ and dual B-final finishes for both the 1V and 2V eights.
Clemson Crew also saw rowers Levi Drake and Max Engelhorn take home silver medals in the men’s 2 final, as well as the men’s lightweight 4+ taking home the gold. That was simply business as usual, as the squad won the same category last spring at SIRA.
Sophomore rower Tom Conoscenti, taking on the role as the club’s president in the fall, believes the team’s results at SIRA reflect an overall rise in the program’s stature in the nation, even beyond what Clemson Sprints showcased.
“We are hoping to reestablish Clemson Crew as one of the premier programs in the South,” Conoscenti affirmed, looking ahead to the ACRA National Championship next month.
Conoscenti believes the women’s three-peat in the 8 can inspire the men’s side, which aims to bring a varsity 8 to the heights the women have achieved. The last time Clemson brought a men’s varsity 8 to ACRA, the team placed in the C-final, and Conoscenti believes an A- or B-final placement on the national stage can “solidify Clemson as a contender for both squads.”
In parallel with the focus and hard work that brought together the women’s squad in a tougher year, the men’s side’s culture placed equal importance on its rising reputation. Conoscenti believes coach Rob DiFrancesco has shown them how fast they can truly be, helping motivate the men to not only be greater, but also to retain interest and to continue the depth of the program into the future.
“We have the depth and talent,” Conoscenti declared. “It is up to us to unlock the speed.”
Despite remaining unranked in the April 22 ACRA poll, the 6:00 time at SIRA has placed Clemson in the cMax poll as the 12th-fastest men’s varsity 8 among ACRA programs.
Clemson Crew will continue its fight for national recognition on familiar territory, bringing its boats back to Melton Hill Lake in Tennessee for the ACRA National Championship on May 15-17.
