May 12, 2008

Philadelphia, PA - In the Dad Vail Regatta from the Schuylkill River, the Saint Mary's women's rowing team participated in two events. Both varsity eight boats competed in the regatta, with the first varsity eight boat posting an 11th place finish overall, while the second varsity eight finished fourth in their heat race.

The first varsity eight had a good showing at the Dad Vail Regatta, and advanced to the petite final in the varsity eight competition. In the heat race, with the top two boats from each heat advancing, Saint Mary's finished second to fellow West Coast Conference member San Diego. SMC pulled to a time of 6:41.75, which was 10 seconds behind the pace of USD, but seven seconds ahead of third place Marist.

In the semifinals races, the top two boats from each of the three heats advanced to the grand final, while the third and fourth place boats advanced to the petite final. SMC completed the 2,000-meter race in a time of 6:27.02, which was 14 seconds better than its first time, but was only good for third as Buffalo (6.17.57) and San Diego (6:20.05) finished ahead of the Gaels top boat.

In the petite final, SMC pulled to a time of 6:50.39 and finished fifth in the race, giving the Gaels an 11th place finish overall in the 42-boat event. The Gaels were 15 seconds of the pace of the petite final winner San Diego State, but finished just six seconds behind Fordham and Connecticut, and less than four seconds behind fourth-place Alabama.

Unlike the first varsity eight boat, the second varsity eight failed to advance past their heat race. The second varsity eight competition included 26 entries, but only had three boats from each of the five heat races advancing to the semifinals. In the Gaels' heat, SMC failed to advance by the narrowest of margins, just 0.2 seconds.

SMC finished the 2K-race in a time of 6.51.94, while Lehigh finished third at 6:51.73 to take the final spot in the heat race. The Gaels' time was the 14th fastest time in the heat races, but since SMC did not finish in the top three in its heat race, it did not advance to the 15-boat semifinals.

Saint Mary's Dad Vail Regatta Results
Friday, May 9
Women's Varsity 8 - Heat 2
1 San Diego (6:31.000)
2 Saint Mary's (6:41.755)
3 Marist (6:48.925)
4 Delaware (7:00.739)
5 Florida (7:08.343)

Women's Second Varsity Eight - Heat 2
1 Purdue (6:37.496)
2 Connecticut (6:48.121)
3 Lehigh (6:51.730)
4 Saint Mary's 95 (6:51.949)
5 Creighton (7:23.327)

Saturday, May 10
Women's Varsity Eight - Semifinals 1 Buffalo (6:17.576)
2 San Diego (6:20.051)
3 Saint Mary's (6:27.021)
4 UC Irvine (6:35.658)
5 Drexel (6:39.835)
6 Santa Clara (6:40.696)

Women's Varsity Eight - Petite Final
1 San Diego State (6:35.868)
2 Fordham (6:44.725)
3 Connecticut (6:44.970)
4 Alabama (6:46.888)
5 Saint Mary's (6:50.390)
6 UC Irvine (6:55.263)