Bison Rowers Set for Patriot League Championships Friday on Cooper River

Friday, May 15

Pennsauken, N.J. (Cooper River)

8 a.m.

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championships

Bison Rowers Set for Patriot League Championships Friday on Cooper River

5/14/2026 9:46:00 AM | Women's Rowing

What: 2026 Patriot League Championship
When: Friday, May 15
Where: Cooper River, Pennsauken, N.J.
The Field: 9 teams (Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Loyola, MIT, Navy)
RESULTS | LIVE STREAM (ESPN+)

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS SCORING FORMAT:
Second Varsity Four: 4.5-4-3.5-3-2.5-2-1.5-1-0.5
Varsity Four: 45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5
Second Varsity Eight: 90-80-70-60-50-40-30-20-10
Varsity Eight: 180-160-140-120-100-80-60-40-20

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE:
8:00: 2V4 heats (2)
8:20: V4 heats (2)
8:40: 2V8 heats (2)
9:00: V8 heats (2)
1:30: 2V4 Petite Final
1:40: V4 Petite Final
1:50: 2V8 Petite Final
2:00: V8 Petite Final
2:10: 2V4 Grand Final
2:20: V4 Grand Final
2:30: 2V8 Grand Final
2:40: V8 Grand Final
3:30: Awards Ceremony

LEWISBURG, Pa. – After a strong spring racing season, the Bucknell women's rowing team is set for its first appearance at the Patriot League Championships under head coach Katy Ruderman on Friday. The championships will be held on the Cooper River in New Jersey for the 12th time, with preliminary heats beginning at 8 a.m. and finals starting at 1:30 p.m. Both sessions will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Patriot League Championships feature a nine-team field, with Georgetown and MIT competing as associate members of the conference in the sport of women's rowing. Last year, a Second Varsity Four competition was added to the championship, in addition to the traditional Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, and Varsity Four races.

Points are weighted heavily in favor of the Varsity Eight, and in the event of a tie after all four finals, the championship would be awarded to the winner of the Varsity Eight. The championship team receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be held at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Ga., on May 29-31. Lake Lanier was the host venue for rowing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Bucknell historically has fared very well at the Patriot League Championships. The Bison finished fourth in the inaugural event in 2005, and then they won seven straight titles from 2006-12. Last year, all four boats qualified for the Grand Final, and Bucknell finished fifth in the team standings behind Boston University, Georgetown, MIT, and Navy.

Bucknell has competed in five events this spring, going up against strong fields at large regattas such as the Eastern Sprints and the Knecht Cup, along with three double-dual racing days in Boston, Philadelphia, and Ithaca.

The Bison Varsity Eight is a two-time Patriot League Boat of the Week. They last claimed the honor on Apr. 21 after beating Delaware and Rhode Island in a double-dual at Cornell. The 1V8+ also swept Drexel and George Washington on the Schuylkill River, and claimed bronze medals out of a 40-boat field at the Knecht Cup on the Cooper River.

Bucknell's top boat features a mix of young and old. Senior Hattie Hopper is the coxswain, and classmates Logan Moore (7) and Bella Guzman (bow) will be looking to help the team get a bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time. Sophomore Evelyn Sherman has enjoyed a strong season in the stroke seat of the 1V8+ after rowing in the 1V4+ last year, and sophomore Callie VonderHaar (6) and junior Clara Eikeboom have moved up after rowing in the 2V8+ last season. Freshmen Caroline Cawley (5) and Frances Butterfield (3) have made an immediate impact in their rookie campaigns.

Freshman Marley Holifield coxes the 2V8+, with plenty of experience in front of her. Standout sophomore Sadye Levensten strokes the 2V8+, which also features five seniors in Victoria Miller-Tuchon, Caroline Corbett, Colby Bernhard, Abaigeal Robertson, and Morgan Brill.

Junior Smith Bumpers has moved into the coxswain role in the 1V4+ this spring, and she leads a boat that features a junior (Campbell Coonley), a sophomore (Lily Francoeur), and two freshmen (Emma Kammann, Margaret Greenberg). The 2V4+ also skews a bit younger with freshman coxswain Sky Rath leading a junior (Eliza Horne), two sophomores (Amelia Smith, Grace Pepper), and a first-year (Kaitlyn Furtney).

The 2V4+ will be the first Bucknell crew on the water in the first of two heats at 8 a.m., alongside MIT, Boston University, Holy Cross, and Loyola. A top-three finish will earn a lane in the Grand Final.

BUCKNELL LINEUPS

Varsity Eight
Cox: Hattie Hopper
Stroke: Evelyn Sherman
7: Logan Moore
6: Callie VonderHaar
5: Caroline Cawley
4: Kalena Gatesman
3: Frances Butterfield
2: Clara Eikeboom
Bow: Bella Guzman

Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Marley Holifield
Stroke: Sadye Levensten
7: Colby Bernhard
6: Caroline Corbett
5: Victoria Miller-Tuchon
4: Rosemary Ostrowski
3: Abaigeal Robertson
2: Morgan Brill
Bow: Kennedy Narine

Varsity Four
Cox: Smith Bumpers
Stroke: Emma Kammann
3: Campbell Coonley
2: Lily Francoeur
Bow: Margaret Greenberg

Second Varsity Four
Cox: Sky Rath
Stroke: Amelia Smith
3: Kaitlyn Furtney
2: Eliza Horne
Bow: Grace Pepper