WEST WINDSOR, NJ – The Lakers traveled to New Jersey this weekend to compete in the Knecht Cup on Mercer Lake. While racing was suspended on Saturday due to high winds and unsafe conditions, Sunday turned into a beautiful day with a light cross-tailwind and a full day of racing.

The men's varsity eight was the only boat from the Mercyhurst team able to race on Saturday before the rest of the schedule was suspended. Mercyhurst finished 3^rd with a time of 6:13.14, and moved on to the semi-finals on Sunday. In the semi-finals, the lightweight men finished 5^th with a time of 6:12:68, less than a second behind Rutgers in 4^th with a time of 6:11.81. The Lakers advanced to the Petite Final in which they finished 2^nd with a time of 6:12.93, just after Temple Lightweight with 6:11.29 and before Bucknell who crossed the line with a time of 6:13.94.

The men's 2V8 competed in the men's varsity eight – DII/III event featuring a straight final Sunday afternoon. The Lakers jumped to the lead and held first all the way through the 2000m course. Mercyhurst captured gold with a time of 6:18.07 followed by Washington College in 2^nd (6:35.88) and Marietta in 3^rd (6:38.65).

The men's lightweight four event also featured a straight final on Sunday. In a tight race for second, the Lakers edged out Fordham for the silver and finished just behind Rhode Island with a time of 6:57.55. Rhode Island and Fordham finished with 6:52.57 and 6:58.85 respectively.  

In the men's varsity four - DII/III event, the Laker lightweights finished 1^st in the heat with a time of 7:12.30 and advanced to the final. Mercyhurst gained speed in the final and edged out Bowdoin for 2^nd with a time of 7:08.01. The Lakers finished just behind Rollins with a time of 7:06.53.
The women's four competed in the club four – DI/II event against other DII competition. Mercyhurst placed 3^rd in the heat with a time of 8:19.32, just missing qualification for the final by 0:02 seconds. Florida Tech and Charleston A secured 1^st and 2^nd in the heat with times of 7:59.74 and 8:16.76 respectively. Lafayette, New Hampshire A, and Merrimack claimed the top three placed in the final.

In the women's club eight – DI/II event, Mercyhurst finished 2^nd in the heat with a time of 6:59.35, exactly 0:04 seconds behind last year's national champions, Barry University, who finished the heat with a time of 6:55.35. In the grand final, Florida Tech claimed gold followed by Barry, and Mercyhurst in 3^rd with a time of 6:57.71.

"I'm glad that despite Saturday's weather, we were able to get some good racing in this weekend" said head coach Adrian Spracklen. "It was good to see a lot of the competition we will see later in the season at Dad Vails. Each of our boats has taken something positive away from this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing how they implement that in practice this week."

The Lakers will travel to Allentown, PA and Leonia, NJ April 22^nd and 23^rd to race in the Lehigh Duals and against Dartmouth and Columbia. Stay up to date with the program by following @HurstRowing on Twitter.