MAC Boat of the Week
Massachusetts Varsity 8
The UMass Varsity 8 put together a silver medal showing at the 2026 Knecht Cup on the Copper River over the weekend (April 11-12). On Sunday morning, the Varsity 8 won the second semifinal in a time of 7:10.29 and then in the afternoon went on to post a second-place showing in the Varsity 8 Final with an impressive 6:53.05 to beat Bucknell, Boston College, Temple, and Boston University. In doing so, the UMass Varsity 8 finished ahead of MAC opponent Temple, along with Delaware and Eastern Michigan, who were in the third-level final.
Other Boat of the Week Nominations
Delaware 2V8+
Delaware’s 2V8+ took fifth in the Knecht Cup grand final. In its first heat, the boat competed against two power conference opponents in UConn and West Virginia, taking second at 6:55.79. In the first race of day two, the semi-final, it took second again, finishing above former conference foe Villanova at 7:25.97. In the final, the boat’s second race in five hours, it placed fifth in the grand final at 7:07.06, finishing above Boston College.
Eastern Michigan 1V4+
Eastern Michigan 1V4+ cruised through Heat 4 in 7:57.92 at the Knecht Cup, April 11-12, to advance before claiming a semifinal win in 7:46.99, topping the likes of Wisconsin and West Virginia to move on to Sunday's Grand Final. EMU took fifth in the Grand Final, besting the Badgers for the second time on the weekend. Eastern's 7:46.99 effort was EMU's top time by a fours boat since April 16, 2023, at the Knecht Cup.
Temple - Second Varsity Eight
Temple's Second Varsity Eight Boat finished the 2026 Knecht Cup strong for the Owls. The 2V8 finished on the podium in second place in the grand finale. The Owls, coxswained by sophomore Sofia Henningsen, finished just 0.03 seconds behind the first-place Boston University Terriers. With this time, the 2V8 put up its second-fastest time of the 2026 season. Among all of the fellow MAC schools competing in this week's Knecht Cup, Temple's finish in the 2V8 grand final was the closest margin between a first and second-place boat.
Toledo 1V8+
Toledo is nominating the 1V8+ for MAC boat of the week. This boat is made up of 3 recruited athletes, one being a coxswain, one transfer, and 5 second-season novices. This spring, they have faced adversity in the form of weather, greatly limiting their water time leading up to the Lubbers Cup. Despite the lack of water practice with such a young boat (all technically novice), they were able to make many changes and improvements between heats and finals. The 1V8+ raced the 5th fastest time across two heats and placed second in petite finals. These student-athletes have shown through winter training that they are dedicated to the challenge of growing together despite the adversity that comes with a first-year team.
