The Iona College men’s and women’s rowing teams competed at the Metropolitan Championships on home waters at Glen Island, New York on April 30. 

The Gaels took home four wins, and 10 total podium finishes at the Championships. 

The Gaels began the day with a third-place finish in the first event of the day, the women’s 2x finishing behind second place United States Merchant Marine Academy and first place Nyack College. The women’s Novice 4+ then won the Gaels’ first event of the day in a finishing time of 7:53.3. 

Iona won a further three events at the regatta, the men’s varsity 4+, the men’s varsity 8 and the women’s varsity 8. 

Elsewhere, the Gaels also picked up podium finishes in the men’s varsity pair, where they finished second behind USMMA, third place in the men’s novice 4+, second in the men’s lightweight four, second in the men’s 2x and the women’s novice eight finished third. 

A week prior to the Metropolitan Championships, the teams competed at the New York State Championships for the first time in 13 years. Across both teams, the Gaels came away with three medals on the day. 

The first medal for the Gaels was won by the freshmen/novice women’s eight as they won a silver medal behind West Point who won the gold, beating the third-place team Ithaca College by 2.9 seconds. 

The freshmen/ novice men’s four also won a silver medal but were beaten by only 2.3 seconds by West Point, again. 

The Gaels only victory of the regatta came in the men’s varsity four who took advantage of improving conditions on the water to beat the University of Rochester by 4.7 seconds. Senior stroke man Francis Acolitse led the team to the win. 

The Women’s Varsity 4 was the only race that the Gaels did not prove fruitful as the team finished in fifth place out of 6 in the Grand Final. 

Acolitse has been balancing the role of President of the Iona College Student Athlete Advisory Committee, after he held the position of Diversity and Inclusion Chair the year prior. 

The Gaels will finish off their season at the Lightweight Tri-Regatta, which is being hosted by Columbia University and Cornell University in Leonia, New Jersey at a Overpeck Park.