WHO: Women's Rowing at Head of the Occoquan
WHERE: Occoquan Reservoir, Sandy Run Regional Park
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016

FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's rowing team returned to familiar waters with six boats at the Head of the Occoquan on Saturday with one of the more experienced boats fighting to a fifth-place finish.

By the time Mason crossed the finish line with a time of 17:47.10, it was the third Atlantic 10 Conference team in the top five of the Varsity 8+ race. On its way to the prestigious finish, the 8A boat guided by freshman coxswain Shelby Rein found itself in a mini Revolutionary Rivalry battle, in which the Patriots came from behind to win by a margin of 4.5 seconds. Delaware (17:07.25) led the pack of 31 boats with one of its five boats in the race, beating George Washington by only 13 hundredths of a second for the top spot. The third place was also decided in a dramatic fashion as Duquesne (17:16.53) beat Georgetown to it by less than a second.

The Patriots' 8B boat (19:19.02) with sophomore Brittany Rutan as coxswain also finished in the top 20 at the expense of Franklin and Marshall College's 8A boat, which was left in 21^st place with 18.33 seconds behind Mason.

"I was pleased with how our team progressed this weekend after the short turnaround from [the Head of the Charles]," head coach Ted Nagorsen said. "The varsity 8A boat made up 20 seconds on George Washington and the second varsity 8 made up 30 seconds on our varsity 8A boat."

"It is a good foundation as we head indoors for winter training, where I believe we can find a lot more speed."

For the first time this season Nagorsen and assistants Katie O'Driscoll and Joseph Richards entered boats in the novice races of an event in which Mason participated. Of the three boats composed entirely of the 27 novice rowers on the Patriots' roster, the one with freshman Kathleen Lackatose at cox did the best and just missed out on a top-half finish in the Novice 8+ event, finishing 12^th of 23 boats with a time of 21:20.65. Mason's Novice 8B boat completed the course at the Occoquan Reservoir in 23:33.12 while the new Patriots in the Novice 4+ race debuted with a time of 28:46.75.

Novice coxswain Jessica Sweeney, a freshman, was entrusted to guide Mason's only boat in the Varsity 4+ race, where the Patriots faced a large pool of opponents and finished 30^th with a time of 24:32.77.

"It was a good day for Mason Rowing as a whole and it was great to see our novice members enter their first race as Patriots," Nagorsen said.

Varsity 8+ results:

1. Delaware – 17:07.25
2. George Washington – 17:07.38
3. Duquesne – 17:16.53
4. Georgetown – 17:17.51
5. George Mason 8A – 17:47.10
6. George Washington – 17:51.60
7. Duquesne – 18:01.40
8. Georgetown – 18:08.44
9. Delaware – 18:12.72
10. Robert Morris – 18:16.00
11. Pittsburgh – 18:18.38
12. Delaware – 18:24.27
13. Duquesne – 18:35.63
14. La Salle – 18:54.82
15. Cincinnati – 19:01.61
16. Delaware – 19:03.24
17. Delaware – 19:04.50
18. Penn State – 19:12.81
19. Loyola (Md.) – 19:13.68
20. George Mason 8A – 19:19.02
21. Franklin and Marshall College – 19:37.35
22. Franklin and Marshall College – 19:53.22
23. St. Mary's College – 19:58.30
24. College of New Jersey – 20:12.34
25. Penn State – 20:29.84
26. Mary Washington – 20:55.44
27. Maryland – 21:00.24
28. St. Mary's College – 21:01.83
29. Richmond – 21:11.15
30. Penn State – 21:37.20
31. Pittsburgh – 21:37.46

For full results of Saturday's Head of the Occoquan events, click here.

NEXT IN THE WATER

Mason will complete in its final fall season event next Saturday, Nov. 12, as the Patriots compete at Frostbite in Mercer, N.J.