Fall 2025 Season Recap: Building Speed

As the fall season winds down and the winter season approaches, the University of Delaware Men’s Crew looks back on a season marked by strong competitive performances and growing program depth. The season officially kicked off in late August with a full week of preseason training. This allowed the athletes to get back in the boats and establish quality strokes before the fall semester began, with the team consistently launching five eights. The program’s growth was further bolstered by the addition of twelve recruited freshmen and one transfer student.

Following the Head of the Christina, the team was eager to test their speed at Navy Day. Unfortunately, poor impending weather forced the event’s cancellation, cutting short the squad’s initial competitive schedule.

Head of the Charles

With no Navy Day this year, the team focused on boat selection for the Head of the Charles. After last year’s strong placements in the Collegiate 8+ and the Collegiate 4+, which landed them automatic bids for this year, the team looked to maintain their position in the top half. In the Collegiate 8+ event, UDMC finished 16th out of 42 entries, notably topping crews from Tufts, Michigan, La Salle, and MIT. In the Collegiate 4+ event, UDMC placed 17th out of 40 entries, beating out crews including Michigan, Notre Dame, Wesleyan, and Bates. These strong placements in the top half secured automatic bids at the Head of the Charles in 2026 for UDMC.

Head of the Schuylkill

After Boston, attention turned to the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia that next weekend. At the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, the program seized the opportunity to race the full squad, showcasing the depth developed during preseason. The Blue Hens fielded multiple entries across the Men’s Collegiate 8+, Freshmen/Novice 8+, Collegiate 4+, and Freshmen/Novice 4+ events. The Freshmen 4+ were the first to go down the course, placing 9th out of 20 crews. The Freshmen 8+ made a decisive statement in their first major race, placing 4th, 3 seconds off of 3rd place Colgate, demonstrating the immediate impact of the incoming talent.

The varsity crews also impressed. The 2nd Varsity 8+ and 3rd Varsity 8+ raced in the Club Championship 8+ event. The 2nd Varsity 8+ placed 13th out of 45 crews, besting Temple, Drexel, St.Joes, and La Salle crews. The 3rd Varsity 8+ placed 28th, besting Marietta, Fairfield, and Marist crews. The 1st Varsity 8+ raced in the Championship 8+ event, being only one of two club teams in the event against a field of varsity crews. The 1st Varsity 8+ battled hard, finishing 10th out of 17 crews, beating out Marietta, Rutgers, Temple, St.Joes, and Drexel crews.

Wahoo Henley

The squad had two solid weeks of training before their last race of the season, Wahoo Henley, hosted by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. This race is not a typical fall race, instead, it is a two-part event: a traditional head race followed by 1v1 knock-out sprints down a 1,000-meter course, similar to the format of the Royal Henley Regatta. The 1v1 knock-out sprints competition were determined by the placement from the head race. The top 20 boats from the head race would compete in the upper bracket, while the rest of the boats would compete in the lower bracket. Both the 1st Varsity 8+ and the Freshman 8+ placed in the top half of the head race, demonstrating consistency across the entire roster. The afternoon sprints provided a strong internal test, culminating in the 2nd Varsity 8+ winning the lower bracket after decisively beating the 3rd Varsity 8+ in the final. This unique race format provided a glimpse of what spring racing will shape out to be.

Looking Ahead

This fall season was another step in the right direction for the University of Delaware Men’s Crew. Freshman rower Simon Grove shared his thoughts on his first fall season here: “Competition this fall has left us confident and hopeful, excited to earn our medals over winter and collect them in the spring.” The ever-growing depth and speed that is being built will propel the team into the winter training block and onto the sprint season in the spring.