FAIRFAX STATION, Va. – The Dukes traveled to Fairfax Station, Va. this past weekend to race at the George Mason Invitational hosted by the Patriots at Sandy Run Regional Park. Conditions were great with cloudy skies, temperatures in the mid 60s and a tailwind of variable strength as it was a great day to put up some fast times.
Atlantic 10 rivals Saint Joseph's, Dayton as well as host George Mason also attended the regatta. In addition there were chances for Duquesne to test themselves against out-of-conference opponents Delaware, Jacksonville, Villanova, and West Virginia.
Duquesne attended the regatta with a second Varsity 8+ and a Varsity 4+. Due to COVID protocols, the Varsity 8+ did not travel.
To start the day off, the second Varsity 8+ took to the course for their heat against Saint Joseph's, Dayton, and George Mason. With rapid changes to the boat lineup toward the end of the week, the boat did not have a long time to adjust themselves to each other, but took to the course up for the challenge regardless. A steady, conservative approach to the race put the Dukes right in the middle of Dayton and George Mason, all three boats fighting for the second spot to qualify for the grand final, while St. Joe's enjoyed a comfortable lead over the field. At the finish line, the Flyers were able to dial up a better sprint than Duquesne, and the Dukes took a third place finish over the Patriots.
Later that afternoon, the second Varsity 8+ would return to the course for the Petite Final. Having taken some time to learn from their heat, Duquesne hit the course ready to put on an improved race. Coming down the course, the crew was able to move the boat better than the heat, and looked more aggressive than their heat. Leaders West Virginia and Delaware were engaged in a stroke-for-stroke battle the length of the racecourse, and while the Dukes fell off the pace from that battle, they maintained an open-water advantage on George Mason, and crossed the line looking stronger and smoother, taking home third-place and seventh of eight overall.
Also racing was a Varsity 4+ that was largely untested, with a lineup of novice rowers and their freshman coxswain who stepped up to the plate to get their first taste of what a multi-boat regatta was like. In their heat, the Dukes started down on the rest of the field, taking no chances to make mistakes, and their clean start served them well. As the race progressed, Duquesne chased down George Mason, and then Dayton as well, and while Saint Joseph's had a lead on Duquesne at the finish line, only five seconds separated the two crews. Duquesne's second-place finish in heats was good enough to send them to Grand Finals.
In the Grand Finals, the Dukes also started off slowly, taking their time to minimize errors and then attacked the rest of the field. It was a hard fought race for the length of the course; Jacksonville slipped out ahead and would never be caught, but for about the middle 1000m of the race, Duquesne was in a fight with Villanova and Saint Joseph's to see who would bring home second. At 500m left, Villanova hit a solid sprint, and with 250m to go, Saint Joseph's was able to push their rate higher than Duquesne and narrowly pushed ahead of the Dukes. Duquesne took a tight and hard fought fourth place in Grand Finals, fourth place of eight teams overall.
"I'm really proud of how the team adapted and performed, with such a limited number of women available for racing," said head coach
Jenn Langzettel. "It was especially exciting to see several of our novice women step up and take on the role of Varsity 4+ rowers, and not only just race, but race well against some strong competition. As a team, the coaches are really proud of how flexible and adaptable this team has become this season."
NEXT UP
The Dukes return to action this weekend at home on the Allegheny River in a head-to-head conference matchup with the Dayton Flyers.
DUQUESNE LINEUP
2nd Varsity 8+
Coxswain:
McGinley Jones
8:
Hannah Straub
7:
Rebecca McCallin
6:
Caroline Redd
5:
Olivia Silbert
4:
Emma Halfacre
3:
Eliza Mance
2:
Britta Wheeler
1: Bri McDonagh
Varsity 4+
Coxswain:
Catherine Egan
4:
Megan McMahon
3:
Hannah Valenty
2:
Sarah Ricketts
1:
Kathryn Ackerman
2nd Varsity 8 Heat:
Saint Joseph's: 6:27.5
Dayton: 6:51.7
Duquesne: 7:02.7
George Mason: 7:09.3
2nd Varsity 8 Petite Final:
West Virginia 6:57.4
Delaware: 6:59.8
Duquesne: 7:28.5
George Mason: 7:51.1
Varsity 4 Heat Final:
Saint Joseph's: 7:51/1
Duquesne: 7:56.2
Dayton: 8:14.8
George Mason 8:50.4
Varsity 4 Final
Jacksonville: 7:32.0
Villanova: 7:47.8
Saint Joseph's: 7:54.6
Duquesne: 7:56.3
