April 5, 2004
FAIRFAX, VA-The Patriot rowing team battled extreme wind and water conditions Sun., April 4, during the Occoquan Sprints. Winds, heavy enough to warrant an all-day wind advisory, caused many changes in the home regatta. Officials moved the racecourse to another location on the river, shortened it to less than 1000 meters long, and used "floating" starts.
"Given the nature of the conditions, we can learn nothing positive or negative from this race," said head coach Paul Rassam. "We will have to wait until the SIRA and CAA Championships to really gage how we are doing against our Dad Vail competition."
After a false start by another boat, and subsequently an even shorter race, the first varsity eight won their heat with a time of 2:08.2. They moved on to the grand final, placing third (3:01.1) overall in a 13-boat field. Drexel University won the event, finishing in 2:54.4. The Patriot boat was comprised of coxswain-Jessica Dillman, stroke-Laurel Sachleben, 7-Melissa Sanford, 6-Lindsay English, 5-Kelly Bryan, 4-Laura Craig, 3-Liz Judge, 2-Megan Duvall, and bow-Christina Gonzalez.
Although the second varsity eight crossed the finish line fourth (2:16.8) in their event, it was a very tight race, with the Patriots finishing only 0.8 seconds behind the second place boat (2:16.0). Villanova placed first (2:12.2). Mason's boat included coxswain-Nancy Irby, stroke-Nicole Pierce, 7-Paige Beaudoin, 6-Christina Piazza, 5-Marissa Olesen, 4-Amanda Scott, 3-Summer King, 2-Kathryn Rose, and bow-Terry Seal.
Due to the dangerous weather conditions, the novice eights did not run final races, but were awarded medals based on where they finished in their heats. Both the first and second novice eights placed first in their respective races.
After this race, Rassam immediately looked ahead to this coming weekend. "We are looking forward to the GW Invitational which will be a big challenge for the three boats we've entered."
George Mason University's women's rowing team will compete again Sat., April 10, at the GW Invitational in Washington, D.C.
