Duquesne University
Dad Vail Regatta
5/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
On Friday, May 8th and Saturday, May 9th the Duquesne Rowing team was in Philadelphia for the 81st Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. With teams from over 100 schools around the country and Canada this is the largest two-day collegiate regatta in the country.
Duquesne took a full complement of boats racing in the Women's Varsity 8, Women's JV 8, Women's Varsity 4, Women's Freshman/Novice 8, and Women's Freshman/Novice 4. The Women's Varsity 4 was the first boat to race for the Dukes on Friday morning in an event of 46 boats. In a strong race they finished 2nd in 7:54.5 just behind William and Mary (7:51.8) and ahead of boats from MIT, Barry, and Ohio University. The top two teams from this race advanced to the semi-final on Saturday morning. In their semi-final the finished 4th in 7:49.0 behind UMass (7:27.3), Temple (7:35.9), and Drexel (7:45.0), and ahead of Saint Joseph's (7:51.0) and Marist (8:02.1). Only the top 2 finishers advance to the final later in the day.
The Women's Freshman/Novice 4 raced in an event with 35 other boats. They advanced to the semi-final on Saturday with a second place finish in their heat. Dayton finished first, MIT third, Marist fourth, SUNY Maritime fifth, and Emory sixth. In what was a very strong semi-final they finished 5th to UNC, UMass, Trent, and Temple while ahead of Purdue. Only the top two boats from the semi advanced to the final.
The Women's JV 8 was the last event of the day on Friday with 17 entries. The Dukes finished 3rd in their heat behind UMass, and Temple while ahead of Fairfield, Colgate, and Ohio State Rowing Club. Their finish advanced them to the semi-final on Saturday morning. The Dukes finished in 4th place behind UMass, Saint Joseph's, and North Carolina, while ahead of Fordham and Purdue. Only the top 3 teams advanced to the grand final.
The Women's Varsity 8 raced in a field of 30 boats. In their heat they crossed the line first over teams from Dayton, Delaware, Iona, and La Salle advancing them directly to the semi-final. In the semi-final the Dukes crossed the line second just behind Drexel and ahead of Colgate, Saint Joseph's, Middlebury, and North Carolina advancing them to the grand final later in the day. In a very strong race the Duquesne women finished 6th. UMass crossed the line first with Bucknell second, Drexel third, Grand Valley fourth, and Purdue fifth.
The Women's Freshman/Novice eight touted 33 entries. In their heat the Dukes finished second to Temple with American, Loyola Maryland, and Saint Joseph's rounding out the heat of 5. The top 3 boats advanced to the semi-final. With a first place finish in the semi-final with Delaware, Bucknell, Drexel, Army, and Georgia Tech the Duquesne women advanced to the grand final. In the final Temple held onto first the length of the course with George Mason, Duquesne, and Purdue battling for second and third. In the end George Mason earned the second place spot with the Dukes finishing third ahead of the boat from Purdue earning a bronze medal.
Line-ups:
Varsity 8:
Cox: Faith Caldiero
Courtney Purslow
Alexandra Watts
Lauren Hughes
Hannah Mazur
Julia Borsari
Emily Herzig
Gretchen Swabe
Serena Benages
JV 8:
Cox: Caroline Dirr
Lauren Turner
Rachel Swain
Anne Stevens
Lindsay Wyllie
Victoria Snyder
Emily Ames
Meredith Starczewski
Jenna Boyd
Varsity 4:
Cox: Grace Hindes
Mary Kate Keenoy
Nicole Wozniak
Kaitlyn Clem
Alison Kane
F/N 8:
Cox: Amanda Booth
Sydnie Pennington
Jessica Goldstein
Samantha Dunn
Cassandra Holder
Mary Katherine Byrne
Antonia Maffia
Marianna Manfredi
Madeleine Troppe
F/N4:
Cox: Rachel Mowatt
Kira Butler
Olivia Delaney
Shelby Rocco
Morgan Starczewski
