Feb. 26, 2010

PHILADELPHIA - Coming off the most successful regular season in school history, the Saint Joseph's women's rowing team is poised to take that to an even higher level in 2010, with an experienced senior class, a strong junior class and a promising group of sophomores and freshmen.

In 2009, Saint Joseph's captured its first-ever Atlantic 10 titles, with gold medals in both the Varsity 8 and the Quad at the conference championship. The Hawks also matched their best-ever finish with third place in the team standings.

The 2010 Hawks' crew returns seven athletes from that Varsity 8 boat which also placed first at the Jesuit Invitational and the extremely competitive San Diego Crew Classic.

The Varsity 8 looks to be just as strong this season with the returning group led by All-Conference selection Colleen Greway and fellow seniors Christina DiSanto, Lauren Rozsits and coxswain Andi Hartfield, as well as juniors Danielle Brady, Brianne Kammerman and Colleen Smith.

Among the top candidates to fill the remaining spots in the Varsity 8 are senior Tina Regan, junior Katie Herdmann and sophomores Ariana McDevitt and Bridget Dempsey. Freshman Moira Schanne, a U.S. Youth Nationals participant from Merion Mercy Academy, could make an immediate impact for the Hawks and land a spot in the Varsity 8.

"We have spent the Fall and Winter developing more strengths to add to our attacking style of racing. We are looking forward to eclipsing last year's record-setting season," said 11th-year head coach Gerry Quinlan, who earned the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award in 2009.

The Hawks also look to be solid in the Second Varsity 8, which placed second in the Atlantic 10 last year by just five-tenths of a second. The returning members of that crew are seniors Tina Regan and Angela Acuna, juniors Clare Burns, Katie Herdmann, Juliet Lee and Ashley Wollman.

Saint Joseph's Quad also took home the Atlantic 10 title in 2009 and has Danielle Brady and Brianne Kammerman as its returnees for this season.

"From top to bottom, we are more physical this year and have capitalized on that with our winter training. In 2009, we took advantage of our fitness and focused on quickness and a more or less one-motion stroke, and it was very effective. This year we will have more power in our bag to be a little more greedy with our length," said Quinlan.

The Hawks get underway on March 13 facing local rivals Delaware, Drexel and La Salle on the Schuylkill River. SJU will defend its Varsity 8 title at the Jesuit Invitational on March 20 on the Cooper River and then at the San Diego Crew Classic in Mission Bay on March 27-28. Other key local races for the Hawks are the Murphy Cup (April 3) and the Bergen Cup (April 24), while they will also participate at the George Washington Invitational on the Potomac on April 9-10. Saint Joseph's will defend its A-10 Varsity 8 and Quad titles at the conference championship on April 17 at Cooper River, and culminate its season with the nation's most prestigious race, the Dad Vail Regatta, which will take place in Philadelphia on May 7 and 8.

With its performances in recent years, and especially in 2009, Saint Joseph's women's rowing has set a new standard of excellence. And with a strong and experienced group of student-athletes, there's every reason to believe that the 2010 Saint Joseph's crew will continue to meet that standard while establishing itself as one of the top programs in the region.