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Date: May 30, 2003
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Colby women's varsity crew wins heat at NCAA Championships

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --

The Colby College varsity eight crew stormed out to a big lead and won heat 2 at the NCAA Division III Rowing Championships at Eagle Creek Park on Friday morning.

The Colby varsity eight earned the rest of the day off after winning the heat and automatically qualifying for Saturday's Grand Final at 12:30 p.m. (EST).

In the six-school championships, the two heats Friday morning were divided up with three varsity eight crews rowing in each heat while the other three boats in each heat were junior varsity 'B' crews from the respective schools.

University of Puget Sound won heat 1 and had the best time of the morning among varsity crews at 7 minutes, 6.13 seconds over the 2,000-meter course. Coast Guard was second and had the second-best time among varsity boats with a 7:08.05. Trinity College took third in the first heat with a 7:14.64. Colby's junior varsity boat took fifth place in heat one at 7:32.51, but that was the third-best time among 'B' boats.

Colby led from start to finish in the second heat. The Mules led Wellesley College by just over one second at 1,000 meters, but pushed the margin to more than seven seconds after 1,500 meters with a 1:51.73 split time. Wellesley finished strong with a 1:43.83 split over the last 500 meters, yet the Mules still won by more than two seconds at 7:10.62.

Colby's varsity eight crew includes: Vivienne Ho (coxswain), Leah Hagamen, Emily Allen, Laura Mistretta, Annie Szender, Leah Robertson, Andrea Piekarski, Megan Loosigian and Ellie Boyce.

In Friday's afternoon races, the rest of the varsity eight crews from Ithaca College, Trinity, Wellesley and Coast Guard advanced to the Grand Final (places 1-6). The Petite Final (places 7-12) will take place at 12:15 a.m. (EST) Saturday with the six 'B' teams.

The Colby 'B' team finished fourth in the first five-boat race in the afternoon. The Mules had the fourth-best time among the six 'B' boats with an 8:08.93 clocking.

The team winner Saturday is based on the following point system: Grand Final 1st place (1 point), 2nd place (2 points), 3rd place (3 points), 4th place (4 points), 5th place (5 points), 6th place (6 points). Petite Final: 1st place (7 points), 2nd place (8 points), 3rd place (9 points), 4th place (10 points), 5th place (11 points) and 6th place (12 points). To determine the national champions, points for each boat will be added and the team with the fewest points wins. If there is a tie in points, the team with the highest placing individual boats wins.

Heat 1 (winner advances to Grand Final)

1. University of Puget Sound 'A' 7:06.13

2. Coast Guard Academy 'A' 7:08.05

3. Trinity College 'A' 7:14.64

4. Ithaca College 'B' 7:27.92

5. Colby College 'B' 7:32.51

6. Wellesley College 'B' 7:39.59

Heat 2 (winner advances to Grand Final)

1. Colby College 'A' 7:10.62

2. Wellesley College 'A' 7:12.71

3. Ithaca College 'A' 7:21.76

4. Trinity College 'B' 7:24.52

5. Coast Guard Academy 'B' 7:39.18

6. University of Puget Sound 'B' 7:40.11

Repechage 1 (top 2 finishers advance to Grand Final)

1. Coast Guard 'A' 7:36.48

2. Ithaca College 'A' 7:46.11

3. Trinity College 'B' 7:54.71

4. Colby College 'B' 8:08.93

5. Wellesley College 'B' 8:19.16

Repechage 2 (top 2 finishers advance to Grand Final)

1. Wellesley College 'A' 7:41.89

2. Trinity College 'A' 7:44.29

3. Ithaca College 'B' 7:46.97

4. University of Puget Sound 'B' 8:06.57

5. Coast Guard 'B' 8:17.86