Nov. 12, 2003

NEW ROCHELLE, NY - After launching their team into a realm of competitive dominance last week, the Sacred Heart University oarswomen built on that momentum and put a winning close to their fall season on Saturday.

The crew team's newest members proved again the Pioneers should be a force in coming years with a solid victory in the Novice Eights event at the Fall Metropolitan Championship Regatta at Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, Nov. 8.

Crews from Dowling, Fordham, Hofstra, Iona, Manhattan College, NYU, Stony Brook and Sacred Heart competed in ten events at Iona's race venue, Glen's Cove, in rough conditions. Stiff wind and cold temperatures made racing difficult for crews in their final fall-season regatta.

Sacred Heart fielded boats in all five women's events: Varsity 4+; Varsity Lightweight 4+; Varsity 8+; Novice 4+ (2 crews) and Novice 8+.

Fordham University, who offers scholarships for rowing, typically dominates both men's and women's events at the regatta. While Fordham crews won almost every event on Saturday, their novice women were unable to match the power, speed and skill of the Pioneers in the WN8+ event.

SHU frosh stroke Caroline Picknally, who stroked the gold-winning novice 4+ at Dowling's Alumni Cup Regatta the weekend before, was followed down the boat by sophomore Jennifer Travers at (7) seat; junior Sarah Kolb (6); frosh Ashley Pratt (5); sophomore Kelly Stern (4); frosh Kristin Schwartz (3); sophomore Erin Nash (2) and frosh Megan Wood in bow.

The winning lineup included sophomore cox / lightweight rower Meghan Casale, who coxed SHU's bronze winning novice 4+ at the Hartford Riverfront Regatta earlier this fall.

The Pioneer crew gained an early lead in the six-boat fleet and held it the length of the 2000meter racecourse, winning by open water in a time of 08:14.3. Second-placed Manhattan finished 8.4 seconds behind SHU, Stony Brook (+:20.1); NYU (+:24.3); Fordham (+:59.9) and Iona (+1:24.1). The gold medal win was the second for any boat in SHU Crew history.

Two SHU novice 4+ crews placed sixth and eighth in an eight-boat fleet. The Pioneer varsity lightweight 4+ placed 3rd behind two of Fordham's boats in that event, beating Iona and Hofstra by many boat lengths. Frosh Tara Ryan coxed stroke Lauren Humphrey, team captain Stacey Lyons, Ali Daly (all juniors), and senior Kate Davignon in their best race yet. All SHU boats finished very respectably considering the tough competition in varsity rowing. In a tight, six-boat race, the varsity 8+ beat NYU by six seconds but lost to winner Fordham by thirty-five seconds.