March 26, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - The women's rowing took to home waters this past weekend for a doubleheader, Saturday at the Murphy Cup and Sunday in a dual meet against UConn.

The river was fast this weekend due to some substantial rain and the spring thaw, so times were fast and contributed to good performances for the Hawks against tough competition.

The Varsity 8 on both days had very strong rows, finishing in a solid third place after winning its heat at the Murphy Cup and defeating UConn on Sunday morning by more than eight seconds. This boat has been through several changes in the past few weeks, losing two members -Meg Henry and Lauren Sysol - to injuries/illness.

In the races SJU did not win this weekend, the Hawks were still within striking distance of the leader.

The Freshman 8 had a very strong row on Saturday as did the 2nd Varsity 8. It was the most aggressive effort of the season.

"We made great strides in competitiveness this week in practice. From the fours to the Varsity 8 we have a lot of speed to still capture. We feel very good about where we are right now after our third race of 2007," said head coach Gerry Quinlan.