Results

FAIRFAX STATION, Va. – The George Mason University rowing team's Varsity 4+ boat notched a strong fourth place finish to lead the Green & Gold at the annual Head of the Occoquan Saturday at Sandy Run Regional Park.
 
The Patriot four boat earned the fourth place showing in a time of 20:30.168, ahead of 12 other regional crews which included Pittsburgh, Old Dominion, Penn State and Maryland.
 
It was one of an impressive nine boats which took to the team's home waters Saturday for the final competitive run of the fall slate.
 
"This was a successful day for us and a great way for us to end our fall on the water season," head coach Joseph Richards said. "This is our largest group we've competed with at the Head of the Occoquan. To coordinate all our different boats on Saturday was a win for our program. Building the size and depth of our program is a goal of ours and I think we're moving in the right direction. We defeated some teams we were behind earlier in the fall so it is clear we are making progress."
 
George Mason's Varsity 8+ finished seventh out of 16 teams in its race and gained speed compared to the team's earlier fall regatta performances. The Patriots crossed the line in 18:19.24, ahead of crews from Liberty, Pittsburgh and Penn State, among others.
 
The Patriots raced two JV8+ boats Saturday as well, and those crews competed against Duquesne, Georgetown and a host of other strong regional programs. GM's A boat placed 10^th in 20:14.71, while the B boat finished 13^th in 22:57.61.
 
George Mason debuted two of its novice eight boats on Saturday and those crews gained valuable experience on the water. The Novice A boat finished 11^th in 24:51.48, while the B crew was 13^th in 26:36.51.
 
The Green & Gold's JV4+ boats competed at 2:30 p.m., with the A boat finishing 10^th out of 16 (22:20.65), ahead of crews from Pittsburgh, Robert Morris and Penn State. The program's Novice 4+ boat also made its racing debut on Saturday.
 
"I'd also like to congratulate our novices who competed for the first time on Saturday," Richards added. "It was a good day across the board for our boats."