Mary Cipperman’21
On May 6, Episcopal Academy’s girls’ novice 8+ boat won City Championships for the first time in 23 years. They are now petitioning to participate in the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) Championships, a national competition.
Run by the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association, the City Championships Regatta hosts teams from throughout the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware areas. David Mercante, history teacher and novice girls’ coach, explains, “I knew it was going to be a tough race with good competition. Programs like Mount St. Joseph’s and St. Joe’s Prep have national reputations, so I knew about them even before I came [to Episcopal].”
Episcopal’s novice program focuses on rowing mechanics first. Mercante explains, “Rowing is a new sport for pretty much everyone who tries it in high school. We really focus on learning the technique first and then about going harder and training physically. It’s about taking it one step at a time, going for one goal, then the next, then next.” Molly Konopka, head coach, adds the importance of working as a team during practices and races. “The hardest part about crew, especially novice crew, is convincing people that it’s not about themselves, but the boat. You have to push yourself to be part of that team.” She adds that great teamwork has allowed the boat to really succeed.
Although novice crews have placed at nationals over the past decades, the girls were the first novices since the nineties to win gold for Episcopal. Konopka explains, “This year’s novice women were dedicated beyond what I’ve seen for many years.” She explains that the team practiced, sometimes twice a day, over spring break. “Cleary it was important,” she says.
After months of preparation, the girls felt ready, but the win was still unexpected. The racers were Kenna McMeekin ‘21 (coxswain), Lily Haupt ‘21, Bridget Egan ‘21, Margot LeRoux ‘21, Hadley DeBruyn ‘20, Mary Cipperman ‘21, Ruth Engelman ‘21, Julia Rushton ‘21, and Mary Grace Konopka ‘21. Haupt explains, “For most of the race, we were pretty much ahead, even though it didn’t look like that from inside the boat. It honestly really looked like Notre Dame was going to win.” After the race, she says, “It was pretty amazing. I think everyone was freaking out at the end.” Konopka sits in the back of the boat and describes her alternate perspective. She explains that “I could see during the race that we were ahead of everyone but at the end, I got a little scared because everyone started to catch up, but I’m glad we were able to keep our pace and stay ahead of everyone.”
Ultimately, the girls beat Notre Dame by a 0.68-second margin. They secured the win after a great day of rowing for the EA crew team. Konopka concludes, “Success breeds success, and a team that has success together can move up the ranks from JV to Varsity as one cohesive unit.”