A Three-Peat for Drexel at the Dad Vail Regatta?
By Frank Otto
Will Drexel three-peat the past?
This weekend, Drexel’s crew will again take to the water in the storied Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta with the chance to win the third overall team championship in three years.
Crew coach Paul Savell said the team has been looking forward to the Dad Vail all year but they’re not letting their past successes go their heads.
“The past years don’t count. The past years won’t help us this year,” Savell said. “This is a brand-new team with brand-new rowers who will have to find their own magic. We’re all counting on each other. Every boat counts.”
In the overall team competition last year on rowing’s biggest stage, Drexel won handily with 41 points, trailed by Bucknell University, which scored 37, and the University of Massachusetts, which scored 32.
As exciting as last year’s repeat overall victory was, Drexel’s individual teams fared well, too. Drexel’s men’s and women’s teams both finished in third place. Each team looks poised to compete on a high level again this year.
More than 100 colleges and universities will send boats with more than 3,000 student-athletes participating in the races Friday and Saturday. The finals are scheduled to be aired on ESPN3 on Saturday.
Although Drexel is an old-hand at the Dad Vail Regatta, it doesn’t mean they can’t pull out a new trick. For the first time, Drexel will use an in-boat camera to document the teams’ race on the Schuylkill River.
Drexel is on a roll moving into this weekend, winning both the Bergen and Kelly Cups late last month after they won the Dr. Thomas Kerr Cup and the Lela H. Kerr Cup earlier in the month.
"We’ve done a great job so far this season, and I think we've put ourselves in the position where we want to be heading in,” Savell said. “We just have to remain focused through the weekend and not take anything for granted. The competition is going to be tough, but I feel we are in great position to continue our success."
For more information on the Dad Vail Regatta, visit the website here.