On Saturday, May 1, the John Carroll Rowing Team took on a competitive MACRAs field. A good mix of both club and varsity teams, this year's MACRA race was held at Strouds Run Park in Athens, Ohio.

After a tough week of practices and seat racing, JCU's Devin Eicher, Miles Nevin, Matt Knestrick,  Anthony Miano and coxswain Clay Morgan took on Northwestern and OSU's A and B boats in the Men's Varsity 4+. The men looked strong, coming through with a commanding second place. Even after they were assessed a five second penalty, they still outpaced the pack to hold on to second and advance to the finals. 

The Women's Varsity 4+ also put a good fight. Kayla Salamone, Jill Kaiser, Lauren Penkala, Maddy Culbertson and coxswain Kate Schaefer faced Mercyhurst, OSU, fellow JCU B boat and the University of Chicago in the second heat. The boat had a strong race, fighting Chicago seat for seat for the first 1300 meters. With a disappointing turn of events, an oar smacked a buoy and the boat lost too much momentum in a tight race to make up with only a few hundred meters to go, missing finals.

The Novice Men's 4+ and the Varsity Women's 8+ had some tough heats and both were disappointed to miss finals. However, the regatta was a good warm-up for next week's Dad Vail Championship Regatta in Philadelphia. Both the Men's and Women's Varsity 4+ will look to battle some of the best crews at one of the top venues in the country.