LANCASTER, Pa. - The Franklin & Marshall women's rowing team begins the spring 2026 season with Thursday's spring break dual meet at William & Mary. Head coach Bob Brady enters year seven at the helm of the F&M rowing programs. 

Spring 2025 Recap

F&M competed in six events last spring, culminating in the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship where the Diplomats earned sixth place.

In the leadup to the MARC Championship, the Diplomats had a strong performance at April's Gifford Pinchot Regatta, claiming first place in the Varsity 8+ with a time of 8:01. The crew of  Nicoletta Roman, Maddie Messer, Lindsey Wright, Nancy Nguyen, Maria Darrup, Audrey Zawoiski, Charlotte King, and Daphne Heines, and Riley Cox as coxswain bested three other crews in the event. F&M also earned second place in both the Varsity 4+ and Novice 4+ races, as the Varsity 4+ bested crews from Carnegie Mellon, TCNJ, and Haverford.

The Diplomats earned sixth place at the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship, taking place at Mercer Lake, N.J. in mid-May. The Varsity 8+ crew of Roman, Messer, Wright, Nguyen, Darrup, Zawoiski, King, Heines, and Cox as coxswain claimed sixth place in the Varsity 8+ Final with a time of 7:51.37. The Diplomats also entered a Novice 4+ crew into the Varsity 4+ final, earning fourth place in the race with  Trang Ho Le Mai, Lucy Connolly, Louise Truong, and Sarah Blum. 

Fall 2025 Recap

The Diplomats took part in three events in the fall, opening with the Head of the Ohio in early October. The regatta was highlighted by the Varsity 4+ crew of Skyler Houghton, Nancy Nguyen, Maria Darrup, Audrey Zawoiski, and Macy Bush as coxswain claiming tenth place from a 25-crew field with a time of 16:45.909, defeating teams from West Virginia, Case Western, Duquesne, Robert Morris, and more. 

The same Varsity 4+ lineup earned one of the race victories in a dual meet again Washington College, claiming first place in the 1,000-meter race and second place in the 3,000-meter event. F&M also raced Varsity 8+ crews for the first time in 2025-26, entering a crew featuring many novice rowers including Amy Ni, Iman Hasnani, Claire Axelrod, Kate Smith, Autumn Lingle, Hazel Abello, Ruth Donohue, Lucy Connolly, and Lauren Caltrider into both the 1,000-meters and 3,000-meters, claiming second place in both races.

The Diplomats concluded the fall at the Head of the Schuylkill in late October, in a regatta that saw yet another strong Varsity 4+ performance. The crew of Houghton, Loise Truong, Darrup, Zawoiski, and Bush were the fourth-best Division III finishers in the event, claiming 30th place from a 56-crew field with a time of 15:32.028. 

Returning All-MARC Rowers

Maria Darrup - Jr. - First Team
Audrey Zawoiski - So. - Novice Team

The Road Ahead

The Diplomats are slated to compete in seven events this spring, beginning with a meet at William & Mary during the team's spring break trip on Thursday, March 19. The Diplomats then head to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. for the Skidmore Invite on Saturday, April 4 before competing in the two-day Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J. on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday. April 12. The Diplomats will face Villanova in the Upper Schuylkill Challenge on Saturday, April 18 ahead of the Gifford Pinchot Sprints on Saturday, April 25 in Lewisberry. The 2026 Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship is set for Saturday, May 2 in Camden, N.J., while the season will conclude in Camden with the Dad Vail Regatta on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9. 

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