April 12, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The women's rowing team traveled to the Nation's Capitol to compete at the George Washington Invitational. The regatta ws run in a dual format with the Hawks competing in three head-to-head races in a day and a half.

The weekend started off perfect for SJU with the Varsity 4 besting George Mason, and the 2nd Varsity 8 and Freshmen 8 besting Georgetown. The Varsity 8 struggled against Georgetown, but managed to outrow George Mason to finish the competition on Friday.

Saturday morning was a real test for the Hawks as they were matched up with Navy, as the Varsity 8 raced Navy and Iowa. The Freshmen continued their winning streak in a real battle with the Midshipmen, winning by two seconds. The Varsity 4 and 2nd Varsity 8 finished good rows but were unable to pull out victories. The same was true for the V8, dropping the race to very strong crews from Iowa and Navy.

SJU made a personnel change in the Varsity 8 subbing in freshman Brianne Kammerman into the stroke seat from the stroke seat of the Freshman 8 for the battle against GW and MIT. The Hawks took control of the race from the beginning and finished the weekend with a win. The Varsity 4, 2nd Varsity 8 and Freshman 8 also posted victories to finish the weekend.

"We had a tremendous weekend and continue to learn that we are capable of a lot more speed. We took a chance in the last race of the day by making a change to stroke seat of the V8, but it paid off. We were looking for a spark and I think we found it. We finally cowboyed up and took control," said Hawk coach Gerry Quinlan. "We were really proud of our whole team."

The Hawks finished third overall behind Iowa and Navy.

Next up for SJU is the Atlantic 10 Championships on April 19 at Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J.