May 9, 2006

The George Mason rowers completed their best race of the spring season on Sunday afternoon at the Mid-Atlantics. Four boats raced, with three boats finishing in the top three of their event.

The Varsity 8+ boat won their event. They controlled the race from start to finish, and raced a complete race, finishing in a very fast time of 6:46. "We had been hitting a wall around the 1000m, but this race they were able to keep their momentum all the way to the finish," said Head Coach Geoff Dillard. "This was a great tune up for Dad Vail, a competitive race that we should be able to compete at a high level."

The novice 8+ boat, was involved in a very close race, finishing second to William and Mary, just .3 seconds off. "They made some adjustments in the boat over the last two weeks and they definitely picked up some speed," added Dillard. "They made some progress, having lost to William & Mary by 10 seconds at the CAA championship. They also went down in a very fast time of 6:52, which will make them a competitive crew at Dad Vail."

The varsity 4 had a good race and just came up a little short of a medal, finishing with a good time in the final of 7:41, dropping 10 seconds from their heat time to their final time. "I expect them to stay hungry and work hard this week in practice to try to pick up some more speed."

Mason's second Novice 8, finished second in petite finals. They raced very hard in the heat and were in 3rd place with 500m left, that would have put both Mason boats in the grand final, but they ran out of gas. "We have been extremely proud of how they have raced all spring, going against other schools top novice 8's," said Dillard. "They have performed very well."

The Patriots will race in their final event of the season, the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta on Friday and Saturday in Philadelphia.