Rowing: WVU Travels to Head of the Schuylkill
October 23, 2003 05:31 PM | General
October 23, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women's rowing team is set to round out their fall season on Saturday, Oct. 25, when they compete in the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia, Pa.
The women will compete in two events on Saturday, the Championship 8 and the JV 8. Last season the squad finished third in the Championship 8 (14:39.03) and 10th in the JV 8 (17:10.38). LeHigh, who finished second last season in the Championship 8, starts right behind the Mountaineers. Last weekend WVU beat out LeHigh by just over a second.
"They will be pushing hard to beat us," said head coach Nancy LaRocque. "It should present a great challenge to us, but I am confident we will fare well."
The Championship 8's are set to hit the water at 5:15 p.m., while the JV 8's take off at 3:50 p.m.
The team will have plenty of momentum after last weekend's fourth place finish in the Collegiate 8 at the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, Mass. The boat manned by Michelle Heier, Donna Stullken, Meg Ayers, Kendra Hamilton, Amelia Payne, Kirsten Leslie, Gaetane De La Bourdonnaye, Caitlin Everett and Jess Martini finished the three-mile course in 17:09.490, faster than their time in 2002 (17:28.48), which earned them a second place finish.
As for the JV 8 boat, this will be only the first time they have competed since the Head of the Mon.
"They have made a lot of improvements since our home race so I think they will race much more proficiently," said LaRocque.
