CHERRY HILL, N.J.- The Franklin & Marshall men's rowing team took part in this weekend's Knecht Cup Regatta, competing in the DII/III Varsity 8+ and DIII Varsity 4+, with the men's 8 advancing to the petite final.

The Varsity 8+ crew from bow to stern of Eli Wallace, Jacob Stokes, Jacob Ripperger, Zaeem Zia, Tai Jespersen, Alan Grove, Max Taxter, Moemen Ibrahim, and Don Ang as coxswain opened the weekend with a fourth-place finish in their Division II/III heat with a time of 7:17.50 on Saturday. 

The time qualified them for Sunday's Petite Final, in which they finished in sixth place with a time of 6:59.96. 

The DIII Varsity 4+ lineup of Harris Zhang, Peter Kutscher, Saul Schoenholtz, Ahmed Sherif, and Ang as the coxswain, took sixth in their heat with a time of 9:18.45 and did not advance to a final on Sunday. 

"This was a challenging weekend of racing for the men's team," said Head Coach Bob Brady. "The men's 8 had very fast competition but we're able to work hard during the heat and advance to a final, which was an amazing effort by them. The men's four unfortunately caught a crab within the first few strokes of the race and were not able to get back into it after that. But we know we can and will do better and we have two weeks to get ready for our next race."

The Diplomats return in two weeks to compete in the Gifford Pinchot Sprint Regatta on Saturday, April 26.