Youthful Women's Rowing Team Posts Solid Results at Dad Vail :: Women's Rowing

May 13, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's rowing team turned in an impressive performance at the Dad Vail Regatta as all three 8 boats reached the Grand Finals on Saturday, with none of those boats having any seniors on the crew.

The Hawks finished in a tie with UMass for third place in the women's team standings with 17 points, as Ohio State won the Seitz Trophy. In the overall points standings (men and women), Saint Joseph's was second to Purdue for the Bratten Trophy.

The Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8 and Freshman 8 boats raced thru the semifinals to reach those Grand Finals.

The Varsity 8 did not have the sharp starting sequence from the previous races, but battle back through the strong field to take the second place. The silver medal was the Hawks' second medal in the past two years in the Varsity 8, as the SJU team captured its first ever gold in 2006.

The boat was comprised of Elizabeth Sauter, Debbie Bateman, Kaitlin Reehill, Kelly McKinley, Meaghan Stanton, Alicia Easby-Smith, Emma Harmon, Colleen Greway and cox Kristen Bonnici. SJU returns all members of that crew next season.

The Second Varsity 8 showed tremendous character the last few weeks in preparation for the Dad Vail and it shown through on Saturday. Advancing thru the semifinals to the Grand Final, the Hawks rowed a strong race to hold off a charge from Temple and finish fifth, although it was in medal contention all the way through.

That crew was comprised of Liz Golden, Caitlin Twaddell, Kaitlyn Weston, Hilary Armstrong, Jessica Barsky, Katie MacTurk, Alison Gallagher, Christina Sadowski and cox Dominique Russo.

The Freshman 8 found themselves in the midst of an odd Grand Final after the race was called back after 900 meters for a resart. At that point, the Hawks were in second place, but after the stoppage, the crew could not duplicate that crisp start. Nonetheless, the Hawks finished an impressive fourth place.

The Freshman 8 boat's lineup was Christina Regan, Lauren Rozsits, Laura Thornton, Christina DiSanto, Allison Morrison, Tai Haluszka, Stephane D'Angelo, Gabby Hazzouri and cox Andi Hartfield.

To read Bob Ford's column on the Hawks from the Philadelphia Inquirer, click here.

For complete results, click here or go to www.dadvail.org.

Although this regatta closed out the 2007 season, the Hawks will return their entire Dad Vail team next year.