Varsity 8 and JV8 Take Bronze at Dad Vail Regatta

Complete Results
 
Philadelphia, Pa. - The Fordham Rams concluded their season with a historic showing at the 80th Dad Vail Regatta this past weekend, May 11 and 12, on the Schuylkill River.  Both the Varsity 8+ and JV8+ crews qualified for the grand finals where they raced to third place finishes, bringing home bronze medals and earning second place in the overall women's team points rankings. This is the best finish Fordham has ever recorded at the Dad Vail and also the first time in the history of the program that both the Varsity 8+ and JV8+ crews earned medals.

Drexel was the overall winner for the women with Fordham in second and Massachusetts third. It is the first time the Rams finished ahead of UMass in the overall standings at the Dad Vail.

The Varsity 8+ raced in a time trial on Friday morning where the Rams completed the course in 6:18.406, logging the fourth fastest time in their field and qualifying for afternoon semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Fordham needed to finish in the top three in order to secure a spot in the grand finals.  The crew took second place with a time of 6:43.803 behind Boston University.  During the grand final on Saturday, Fordham stayed with the field throughout the majority of the race and sprinted out the finish to take third place with a time of 6:31.858.  The Varsity 8+ crew defeated defending champions Drexel in their time trial, semi-final and grand final races.
Varsity 8+ Lineup (Cox: Olivia Herman, 8 Danae Ohresser-Joumard, 7 Erin Parker, 6 Cynthia Luz, 5 Erin Stepka, 4 Caroline Roncinske, 3 Aleksa Bjornson, 2 Erin McGreevey, 1 Kat Napoli)
 
The JV 8+ began their racing with Friday heats.  During the heat, the Rams placed second in a photo finish with a time of 7:01.554, just 0.1 seconds behind UMass which allowed them to move forward to the grand final on Saturday.  The crew had a strong performance, maintaining their position in the top half of the field throughout their race and crossing the finish line in third place with a time of 6:52.089.
JV8+ Lineup (Cox: Julia Comerford, 8 Kristen Shuman, 7 Ariene Merkle, 6 Maddy Locher, 5 Sophie Singh, 4 Anna Peterson, 3 Erika Selakowski, 2 Brikena Prendaj, 1 Katie Dillon)
 
The Frosh/Novice 8+ crew also raced well over the weekend.  The crew began their racing by winning their heat on Friday in a time of 7:34.990, a full eight seconds faster than the second and third place crews, Villanova and Delaware.  They advanced to the grand final on Saturday where they came in fifth place, rowing a 7:21.906.
Novice 8+ Lineup (Cox: Olivia Ciraulo, 8 Debra Chieco, 7 Emma Spoldi, 6 Kylie Elwood, 5 Gabriella Guglielmi, 4 Danielle Moynihan, 3 Lidya Ozcelik, 2 Estephanie Peralta, 1 Elizabeth Berejka)
 
The Varsity 4+ crew raced in a time trial on Friday morning and finished with a time of 7:23.582 which qualified them for a semi-final on Friday afternoon.  During their semi-final, the Ram's 4+ finished sixth with a time of 8:00.296.  The crew advanced to the third-level final and took fifth place in 7:56.534.
Varsity 4+ Lineup (Cox: Claudia Keech, 4 Emma Lipinski, 3 Danielle Kosman, 2 Sarah White, 1 Catherine Perlick)
 
In the JV 4+ event, the crew competed in time trials Friday morning where they finished in a time of 7:49.713 and advanced to the semi-finals.  In the semi-finals the crew sprinted into a third-place finish in 8:00.977 and moved forward to the petite final.  During the Saturday petite, the Rams placed fourth with a time of 8:04.130.
JV4+ Lineup (Cox: Jackie Heffner, 4 Grace Little, 3 Anna Grace Cole, 2 Samantha Santiago, 1 Jacklyn Regan)