Trent Excalibur Rowing Brings Home Two Gold Medals at U.S. Regatta

Trent Excalibur Rowing is coming home with hardware at the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta in Pennsauken, N.J., with two gold medals and one bronze, which took place on May 10-11.

Trent was one of three Canadian universities competing in this year's event and the only institution to medal. Photo courtesy of Trent University.

The three-day event featured 288 entries from 61 rowing clubs and is considered the largest collegiate regatta in the United States.

Trent saw all its varsity boats advance to the A Finals and both novice crews qualify for the B Finals during Friday’s time trials and semifinals. 

“Our athletes were given an experience unlike anything we have for university rowing competitions in Canada,” said Ugette Vanderpost, varsity rowing coach. “It was a lot of planning, training and driving paired with tremendous resilience against strong winds. I couldn't be prouder of these athletes and coaches. It was an honour to be part of this team's journey.”  

The Excalibur finished second overall in the women’s sculling championship, narrowly missing first place by just three points. 

The following are the results for Trent Excalibur: 

Gold medals: 

  • Women’s Single (1x): Tess Friar – 8:20 finish (25 seconds ahead of second place)  

  • Women’s Quadruple Sculls (4x): Friar, Emilie Mirfield, Kendall Rose, and Hannah Kavanagh – 7:16 finish (25 seconds ahead of the next shell) 

Bronze medals: 

  •  Women’s Double (2x): Caitlyn Cox and Lillian Terpstra – 8:28 finish  

Additional standout performances:  

  • 5th Place – Men’s Double (2x): Jessy Kenny and Luke Sullivan  

  • 5th Place – Women’s Novice Coxed Four (WF/N 4+): Sam Moss, Danie Green, Elly Hutt, Rebecca Davis, and Daniella Rodrigus  

  • 5th Place – Men’s Novice Coxed Four (Novice 4+ racing in Varsity 4+ event): Gus Suddard, Joseff Zwetko-Neher, Braydon Walsh, Sam Farrer (with Hannah Kavanagh substituting as cox in finals). 

Friar was the most successful Trent athlete, walking away with two gold medals. She completed her second year in the Trent Nursing program.

“The level of competition pushed us in new ways and winning both the women's varsity single and the quad this year felt like the perfect reward for all our hard work,” she explained. “The support from our coaches and teammates made it even more meaningful. I’m proud to represent Trent and be part of a team that always strives to raise the bar.”

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