Oct. 27, 2008

The women's rowing team participated in the Head of the Schuylkill this past weekend with three boats entered. The Patriots Varsity 8 placed 7th out of 17 boats in Championship 8 race. The Novice 8 boats finished 23rd and 29th out of 36 boats.

"We faced some tough racing conditions, and I was pleased with how we handled it and how we raced," Head Coach Geoff Dillard said. "We mixed our lineups up and I think we grew stronger as a team this weekend."

In the Championship race Mason finished behind Vesper Rowing Club, NY Athletic Club, Navy, Drexel, St. Joseph's and just three seconds behind sixth place University of Rochester. The boat finished well ahead of Villanova, Bucknell, Rutgers and Temple.

"Our novice squad got a great chance to see and experience racing for the first time this weekend," assistant coach Ellen Gallagher said. "Our primary goals were to have fun and learn lessons about racing and training for the future. I think we scored big on each count. We've got a great squad with good potential for future success."

The Novice boats finished with times of 19:06.1167 and 20:40.4733.

The Patriot rowers will complete their fall season of racing at the Head of the Occoquan on November 1.