April 21, 2003
FAIRFAX, VA...The George Mason women's rowing team competed in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships this past Friday and Saturday in Oak Ridge, TN, with the program bringing home a gold medal in the Varsity Lightweight Four division and a silver in the JV Four division.
"This is the first time our program has won a championship in a race of this caliber," said Patriot head coach Paul Rassam. "Overall, it was just a great weekend for our program."
The Varsity Lightweight Four - comprised of coxswain Nancy Irby, 4: Meia Raboteau, 3: Megan Duvall, 2: Cristina Gonzalez and 1: Amanda Scott - finished its final in 7:52.0.
"They led wire-to-wire and held off a stiff challenge from Tampa and Georgia State," said Rassam. "It was just a great race. They showed a lot of poise and confidence."
En route to the silver, the JV Four - comprised of coxswain Annmarie Fitzpatrick, 4: Kate Laczynski, 3: Lesley Topping, 2: Michelle LeBlanc and 1: Christina Piazza - finished its final in 8:25.7.
"They had a good race, and I was particularly impressed by Kate Laczynski, who just returned from a back injury and stroked the boat to its second place finish," noted Rassam.
The Varsity Eight of coxswain Annmarie Fitzpatrick, 8: Laurel Sachleben, 7: Ally Chewning, 6: Patricia Angelo, 5: Lindsay English, 4: Melissa Sanford, 3: Laura Craig, 2: Paige Beaudion and 1: Liz Judge won that division's C Final in 7:03.5, which placed them 13th out of 24 boats. After finishing fourth (7:02.1) in its opening heat on Friday, the team rebounded on Saturday to work its way to the C Final championship.
"They faced a tough heat Friday and had some bad luck with an altered lane. They never got into their rhythm and finished 4th in 7:02.1. It was disappointing, but I was very impressed by the way they bounced back the next day, as they took a comfortable second place (6:56.3) in the C-D semi-final," commented Rassam. "They then had a great race in the C Final, leading from start to finish and holding off Tulane by three-tenths of a second to win it."
The Novice Eight of coxswain Rebecca Abarr, 8: Nicole Pierce, 7: Summer King, 6: Terry Seal, 5: Kelly Bryan, 4: Kathryn Rose, 3: Marissa Olesen, 2: Leanne Creger and 1: Jenny Welfare, finished sixth out of 18 boats with a 7:28.2 showing in the A final. They finished second (7:14) in their initial heat and third (7:18.1) in the A-B semifinal before competing in the A final.
"They had three strong performances," noted Rassam. "They continue to get better each weekend. We are happy with the progress they are making"
Mason travels to Philadelphia Saturday to compete in the Kerr Cup, which will also be used as the CAA Championships.
