CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.- The Franklin & Marshall men's rowing team faced crews from Villanova, St. Mary's (Md.), Stockton, and Haverford in the Upper Schuylkill Challenge on Saturday, with the Men's Varsity 8+ taking first over Villanova and St. Mary's. Together, the Diplomats raced a men's Varsity 8+, a second 8+ and one Varsity 4+. 

"This weekend was a strong performance by the team, and it was great to see our men's eight beat a couple conference rivals with only a couple weeks until MARCs," said Head Coach Bob Brady. "We're looking forward to gaining a little more speed across the board over the next two weeks."

The first Varsity 8+ lineup, ranked 15th in the second week of the IRCA/IRA Division III poll, included, from bow to stern, Jacob Ripperger, Peter Kutscher, Saul Schoenholtz, Max Taxter, Max Goldman, Aemon Cameron, Tai Jespersen, Moemen Ibrahim, and Mithayus Diaz as coxswain. The Diplomats bested crews from Villanova and St. Mary's to win the race in 6:49.78.

F&M's second Varsity 8+ lineup included, from bow to stern, Kunaal Chatterjee, Harris Zhang, Gordon Clifford, Kanishk Pal, Ziyan Tang, Kutscher, Ripperger, Zaeem Zia, and F&M women's rower Manal Fatima as coxswain. F&M finished in second place against a crew from St. Mary's with a time of 8:16.42.

The Diplomats' Varsity 4+ crew featured, from bow to stern, Clifford, Tang, Chatterjee, Zia, and Fatima as coxswain. The Diplomats claimed third place from four competing crews with a time of 8:10.67. 

F&M's next competition is the Gifford Pinchot Sprints from Lewisberry on Saturday, April 25.