(March 25, 2004) ?C The Fordham University women??s crew recently received an invitation to one of the most prestigious regattas in the country when the Rams were invited to compete for the Jessop-Whittier Cup at the San Diego Classic on April 3rd and 4th. It is the first ever invite to the prominent race held each year in Southern California. ??This is an exciting opportunity to go up against some of the nation??s top crews,?? said head coach Ted Bonanno. ??This will be a great way to begin our spring season and will give our rowers exposure on the national level.?? Fordham was one of 14 programs invited to compete in the regatta, joining national powers UC Berkeley (the defending champions), Washington, Stanford, Southern California, Texas, Washington State, Oregon State, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, teams which all raced at last year??s NCAA Championship. Other schools competing for the Cup include West Virginia, last year??s Cal Cup Classic winner, Villanova and Purdue. The Fordham Varsity 8 competing for the Jessop-Whittier Cup includes Lauren Boyle (stroke), Janet McDonald (7), Megan Rogers (6), Janine Abdallah (5), Sara Hortsmann (4), Krista Barney (3), Allison McGuinn (2) and Melissa Shokoufandeh (bow) with Jaclyn Marotta at coxswain. The 2004 classic marks the 31st year of the Crew Classic in San Diego. Over the years the Crew Classic has grown in size. Some of the most renowned schools in the United States have competed in the San Diego Crew Classic. Among those are Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, Duke, and University of Virginia.