Bucknell University Athletics
Women's Rowing Announces 2016 Schedule
2/1/2016 3:25:00 PM | Women's Rowing
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell head women's rowing coach Stephen Kish announced the 2016 racing schedule for the Bison on Monday. Bucknell will compete at a number of familiar high-profile events, including the Murphy Cup, Occoquan Sprints, Knecht Cup, Eastern Sprints and Dad Vail Regatta, in addition to hosting a pair of events in April, and traveling to New Jersey for the Patriot League Championships.
The schedule opens March 26 with the Murphy Cup on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It will be the first of three trips to that venue for the Bison, who will also race on the Cooper River during the Eastern Sprints (May 1) and Patriot League Championships (May 13). Bucknell will be making its return to the Murphy Cup after competing there 10 straight years (2005-14). The Bison captured the overall points trophy at the event four consecutive seasons from 2007-10. The varsity eight also won four gold medals during that span.
The first weekend in April is a busy one for Bucknell as the Bison will compete in the Skotedis Cup on the Schuylkill River on Saturday and then travel to the Occoquan Sprints in Fairfax, Virginia, on Sunday. The Skotedis Cup is in its second year and honors John Skotedis, Kish's former head coach and the person who had the greatest impact on the Bison program in its early years.
Bucknell will then take part in the Knecht Cup for a sixth consecutive year the weekend of April 9-10. The Bison varsity eight won gold at the Knecht Cup in 2008 and 2013, and it earned silver medals in 2012 and 2014. The Knecht Cup will take place on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey.
The first home event of the season for Bucknell will be April 16 when it hosts Eastern Michigan and Canisius. The Bison are also home April 24. All home races take place on the Susquehanna River near Shamokin Dam, about a 10-minute drive from the Bucknell campus.
April 23 will feature the Bison traveling to Lake Carnegie to race against Dartmouth, Penn and Princeton.
“We are very appreciative of Dartmouth, Penn and Princeton including us in the Class of 1984 Plaque race,” noted Kish, who is in his 20th year at the helm of the Bison program. “We were able to participate in 2007 and 2010, and it was an invaluable experience for our women.”
Bucknell will make its first trip to the Eastern Sprints since 2012 on Sunday, May 1. Among its opponents at the highly regarded event will be Columbia, Dartmouth and Radcliffe.
The Patriot League Championships will take place May 13. The Bison won the title seven straight years from 2006 to 2012 and have finished either second or third each of the last three years. The winner of the Patriot League title earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 27-29 on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.
The team's annual trip to the Dad Vail Regatta will overlap with the Patriot League Championships as the two-day event on the Schuylkill River is May 13-14. Bucknell has finished in second place in the team standings each of the last two years.
