In front of a roaring crowd and a worldwide audience, Drexel Rowing won the overall team title, the men’s point trophy and the Men’s Varsity 8 Gold Medal at the 2013 Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. The Dragons sent a program-record 12 boats to the semifinals on the final day of racing, nine advanced to the grand finals and six reached the medal podium to help Drexel make history on the Schuylkill.
Director of Rowing Paul Savell led his team to four gold medals, a silver and a bronze, which was the team’s highest medal count at the Dad Vail in history. The historic haul allowed Drexel to edge out Michigan by four points to claim the team points trophy. The men’s crew bested Grand Valley by 12 points, 45-33, to take first place in its team competition, and on the women’s side Drexel placed third with 15 points.
The men’s varsity pair was the decisive race of the day. With the men’s points title hanging in the balance, Drexel needed to finish in the top three to claim victory over Grand Valley. Dragons Timothy Drake and Cameron Staines put an emphatic end to the Dragons’ triumph on the river with a gold-medal performance, edging out Rochester by one-tenth of a second.
Joining Drake and Staines on the gold medal podium were the men’s novice eight and the women’s second varsity eight. The men’s varsity eight earned gold in the most prestigious event of the day with a come-from-behind victory in a final that included Michigan State, Florida Institute of Technology, Grand Valley, Michigan and Virginia. Drexel received the Lev Brett Bowl for winning the men’s varsity eight race. It was the first time since 1997.
Also contributing to the record-setting medal count were the men’s second varsity eight, with a silver, and the women’s varsity four, with a bronze.
The team victory is the culmination of a steady climb for the Drexel Rowing program. Last year, the Dragons came up just short of the ultimate prize, finishing second by a narrow margin. This year, with an unsurpassed team performance that saw all 12 of its entrants qualify for semifinal races and nine move on to grand finals, Drexel would not be deterred from its championship.