On Sunday, April 14, the men’s varsity rowing team won the gold medal in the Petite Final of the prestigious Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J. The victory came just two seconds ahead of competitor, Rutgers University.

Senior David Cullmer was as shocked as he was pleased to have done so well over the weekend.

“Aside from exhilarating, winning the Petite Final was a bit of a surprise for us. We went into the race ranked twelfth overall,” said Cullmer. “To defy the expectations was an achievement that all of us are very proud of.”

Going into the weekend with nothing to lose gave the Lakers all of the motivation and power they needed to come out as gold medal winners.

“The aspects that helped us win was the ability to feel and believe we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We were in a heavyweight event, rowing as a lightweight crew,” said Cullmer. “We were at a disadvantage and it helped us push through. With doing well in the heat, we went into the race believing we were capable of qualifying and winning. We are connecting as a crew and team, and each day has been better than the last. We left it all on the course and it paid off.”

The Lakers’ next races come against Cornell University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Saturday, April 20, in Ithaca, N.Y.

“Next weekend will be a defining moment for our team. MIT and Cornell will be the biggest challenge that we have face this year, and we as a crew team have high hopes of doing well and competing with the best in the country,” said Cullmer.

“I am nervous, but very excited because I know no matter what we will do our best and work as hard as we can to win. We are very competitive athletes and I hope we’ll prove it next weekend.”