April 21, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's rowing team has accepted an invitation to the prestigious Eastern Sprints, which will be held on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., on May 18. The 35-year-old Eastern Sprints is the annual rowing championship for the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges (EAWRC) league.

The regatta features teams from the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions, including six of the top 20 teams in the nation, according to the latest CRCA/USRowing poll. All eight Ivy League schools (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton, Radcliffe (Harvard), Yale) as well as Boston College, Boston University, Georgetown, George Washington, MIT, Patriot League foe Navy, Northeastern, Radcliffe, Rutgers and Syracuse will be represented at the event.

Those 17 teams all hold a league membership that grants their participation annually. The league has one vacant at-large spot, which has been up for grabs yearly. Through its win at the Knecht Cup eight days ago, the varsity eight earned a spot for Bucknell in this year's event. Rhode Island earned the guest entry last year and placed 10th of 18 teams in the overall standings.

"This is a significant moment in the history of women's rowing at Bucknell," said Bison head coach Stephen Kish, who is in his 12th year guiding the program. "We plan to enjoy the experience and make the most of the opportunity."

The Eastern Sprints is one of the most competitive races in all of collegiate women's rowing besides the NCAA Championships. Yale and Brown tied for the overall title in 2007 with 63 team points apiece, although the Bulldogs claimed the varsity eight grand final by nearly four seconds over the Bears. Brown went on to secure its fifth NCAA title in the last nine years later in the season.

Bucknell's full team will be making its first-ever appearance in the Eastern Sprints. The Bison lightweights competed at the event in 2002.

Bucknell is no stranger to the Cooper River, the site of the Eastern Sprints. The varsity eight won the Knecht Cup there on April 13. In upcoming weeks the Patriot League Championship, ECAC Championship and IRA Lightweight National Championship will be held there.

The Bison are in the midst of another outstanding campaign in 2008. They have already won the overall points trophy at the Murphy Cup and the varsity eight posted a first-place showing at the Knecht Cup. The championship portion of the schedule will begin this Sunday morning when the Bison go for their third consecutive Patriot League title.