March 29, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's rowing team advanced three eights to the grand finals of the Murphy Cup, while the Freshmen 8 took gold.

The Frosh advanced through the heats to start the day off for the Hawks and finished the day by winning the gold over Bucknell, Williams and Navy.

The 2nd Varsity 8 had a great day as well, winning the heat to advance to the Grand Final. The Hawks clashed oars in the first 20 strokes of the grand final with Williams but we got back on track to finish a strong third, earning the bronze medal. "The 2V is a fun boat to watch. After the collision at the start we had 2 choices - to go or stop. We decided to go. We are really proud of our results today," said coach Gerry Quinlan.

The Varsity 8 advanced to the Grand Final as well, winning a tightly contested heat. In the final SJU finished fourth, battling with Dowling and Drexel for that fourth position. "The V8 is still struggling with race day. We need some leadership in the boat to step here and get us on track. This is physically the strongest boat we have ever had, but we are having difficulty shifting to the next gear," said Quinlan.

The Varsity and Freshmen Fours had strong heats finishing second and third, respectively. Both boats narrowly missed advancing to the Grand Final, but continue to make progress each week.

"This is our fourth race of the season and we have another tough race tomorrow vs. UConn. We have looked a little sluggish and tired but this is our gut-check weekend. We need to see if we can 'cowboy-up' and push through three races in 24 hours in preparation for the Dad Vail's," said the coach.

The Hawks will face off against UConn on Sunday at 8 a.m. at the Gillin Boathouse.

VARSITY 8+: c. Kristen Bonnici, 8. Christina DiSanto, 7. Colleen Greway, 6. Liz Sauter, 5. Alicia Easby-Smith, 4. Danielle Brady, 3. Kelly McKinley, 2. Lauren Sysol, 1. Debbie Bateman.

2ND VARSITY 8+: c.Andi Hartfield, 8. Samm Wilson, 7. Kate MacTurk, 6. Tina Regan, 5. Ali Gallagher, 4. Liz Golden, 3. Lauren Rozsits, 2. Allison Morrison, 1. Caitlin Twaddell

VARSITY 4+: c. Gabby Hazzouri, 4.Hilary Armstrong, 3. Laura Thornton, 2. Kathleen Radebaugh, 1. Tina Sadowski

FRESHMEN 8+: c. Clare Burns, 8. Brianne Kammerman, 7. Katie Herdmann, 6. Christine Stopyra, 5. Colleen Smith, 4. Deanna Bigford, 3. Juliet Lee, 2. Ashley Wollman, 1. Angela Acuna.

FRESHMEN 4+: c. Brigid Slattery, 4.Melissa Craig, 3. Mary Cate Fox, 2.Teresa Penatar, 1. Amanda Stooks