BOSTON — The Cornell women's rowing team delivered a commanding performance at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta on Saturday afternoon, finishing third in the Women's Club Fours event and earning a bronze medal — the program's first podium finish at the event since 2017, when Cornell captured silver in the Women's Championship Fours.

Racing from bow 53, Cornell crossed the finish line in 18:12.169, just 0.915 seconds behind second-place Columbia (18:11.859). Kansas captured the top time with 18:05.254, capturing the Marcia Hooper Trophy for the second straight year. The Big Red concluded the piece 1.149 seconds ahead of Brown, who finished in fourth.

The Big Red sat in fourth place upon reaching the Riverside Boat Club with a time of 4:15.645, trailing Kansas (4:14.891), Dartmouth (4:14.302), and Columbia (4:11.185). As the race progressed, Cornell moved steadily up the leaderboard, sitting in second place at the Weld Exhibition (10:00.208), trailing Columbia (9:59.827) by 0.381 seconds, and Cambridge Boat Club (15:05.372), where it trailed only Kansas by 3.664 seconds (15:01.708). Columbia used a late surge to go from fourth place to second in the final half-mile.

"They had a great race today," said Steve Coppola, the Staley Head Coach of Cornell Women's Rowing. "It was representative of the work that the whole team has been doing all fall. It's always hard to place high when you're starting from so far back in the pack. The goal for today was pretty simple — have fun racing, go as fast as we could, make sure we re-qualified for next year, and then see if we can medal. They raced really hard today. It was really good to see."

Beyond Cornell's race in the Women's Club Fours, Saturday's portion of the Head of the Charles featured three Cornell alumnae boats competing as the BMA Boat Club. The Big Red's entries came in the Women's Grand Master Fours, Women's Grand Master Eights, and Women's Alumnae Eight, where they finished 18th, 14th, and 20th, respectively.

"It was also really cool to see all the alumnae today and how excited they were to see us when we came off the water," Coppola said. "It was just a great day to be a part of the broader Cornell community and represent up in Boston on such a big stage."

BOATINGS
Women's Club 4+ (Bow #53): Emmy Tyrcha (coxswain), Alexis Engman (stroke), Isabella Capelli, Elise Rueppel, Eleanor Bijeau (bow).

Women's Grand Master Fours (Bow #13): Marjorie Setchko (coxswain), Laura Moody (stroke), Maureen Mayer, Cola Parker, Tiffany Doggett (bow).

Women's Grand Master Eights (Bow #14): Chris Bassler (coxswain), Sunja Edmunds (stroke), Debra Kemper, Andrea Thies, Sandy Dupcak, Emily Farnham, Elizabeth Wilson, Louisa Edgerly, Jill Hathaway (bow).

Women's Alumnae Eights (Bow #22): Hannah Marks (coxswain), Lydia Perkins (stroke), Hannah Hely, Sophie Monroe, Anna Paisley Gray, Solveig Imsdahl, Sophia Clark, Rachel Padula, Alice LaViolette (bow).

WOMEN'S CLUB 4+ RESULTS
1. Kansas 'B' - 18:05.254; 2. Columbia 'A' - 18:11.859; 3. Cornell 'A' - 18:12.169; 4. Brown 'A' - 18:13.318; 5. SMU 'A' - 18:20.767; 6. Boston University 'A' - 18:24.895; 7. Dartmouth 'A' - 18:31.083; 8. Boston College 'A' - 18:31.912; 9. Georgetown 'A' - 18:33.536; 10. Colgate 'A' - 18:34.108; 11. Holy Cross 'A' - 18:39.130; 12. Creighton 'A' - 18:41.007; 13. UCD Boat Club 'A' - 18:41.249; 14. Jacksonville 'A' - 18:43.955; 15. Trinity 'A' - 18:48.971; 16. Riverside 'A' - 18:56.858; 17. Fairfield 'A' - 18:56.888; 18. Lehigh 'A' - 18:57.408; 19. Northeastern 'A' - 18:59.736; 20. Sacred Heart 'A' - 19:04.861; 21. Lincoln Park Boat Club 'A' - 19:06.277; 22. Monmouth 'A' - 19:11.290; 23. Marist 'A' - 19:15.249; 24. London 'A' - 19:17.770; 25. William and Mary 'A' - 19:21.797; 26. MIT 'A' - 19:26.558; 27. La Salle Rowing 'A' - 19:41.076; 28. CRI 'A' - 19:42.950; 29. Virginia RA 'A' - 19:44.136; 30. St. Catharines 'A' - 19:46.240; 31. Georgia 'A' - 19:49.277; 32. Carolina Masters Rowing 'A' - 19:50.536; 33. St. Louis 'A' - 19:51.249; 34. Milwaukee 'A' - 19:53.627; 35. VCU Club 'A' - 19:54.899; 36. Fat Cat 'A' - 20:03.400; 37. Passaic River 'A' - 20:03.472; 38. Vesper 'A' - 20:09.101; 39. MIT 'B' - 20:15.269; 40. Capital 'A' - 20:19.319; 41. West Point 'A' - 20:29.921; 42. Concord 'A' - 20:59.496; 43. West Side Rowing Club 'A' - 21:06.674; 44. Wharton 'A' - 21:30.031; 45. MITRC 'A' - 21:41.352; 46. Endicott 'A' - 22:04.677; 47. Passaic River 'A' - 22:14.225; 48. Gordon Rowing 'A' - 22:15.920; 49. Rowing In Color 'A' - 22:46.911; 50. Pride on Water 'A' - 23:30.621; 51. American 'A' - 23:35.858; 52. Simmons 'B' - 24:23.623.

A LOOK UPSTREAM
Cornell will look to improve upon its strong showing at Head of the Charles next weekend when it travels to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for the annual Head of the Fish Regatta. The Big Red will send a full squad as it will look to defend last year's titles in the varsity 4+ and freshman 8+.

With a large freshman class bolstered by a strong walk-on group, Cornell will also enter a freshman 4+ for the first time. In the 1V8+ and 2V8+ categories, the program has the depth to challenge for the top spots, according to Coppola.