May 5, 2008

Results

FAIRFAX - The Duquesne rowing team participated in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Championship this weekend in Fairfax, Va. The Dukes raced three boats, and all three medaled.

In the closest race of the afternoon, the Varsity 4+ boat finished in 10 seconds place behind Sacred Heart and four seconds behind Maryland. Head coach Joe Setting was impressed with the time of 9:33.2 considering one of the rowers suffered an injury in the first part of the race.

Winning their heat by over seven seconds, the Novice 4+ boat qualified them for the grand final after they had the best time of all 10 boats in the heats, crossing in 8:56.2. The Dukes' domination continued in the grand final, as DU easily took gold, winning by over 20 seconds ahead of Rutgers with a time of 9:04.9.

The Lightweight 8+ crew took silver with a time of 8:09.7. However, the Dukes time was slowed by an impeding Fordham boat that clashed oars causing the Rams to be penalized 3 seconds. The second place finish was four seconds behind Virginia Tech - just three weeks ago, VT crossed 16 seconds ahead of DU at the Knecht Cup.

Coach Setting and the rowers will be at the Dad Vail Regatta May 9-10. The varsity 4+ will begin the regatta facing teams such as Lehigh, Emory, and Massachusetts-Lowell. The novice 4+ will face experience teams from Bucknell and Marietta.  Saturday, the lightweight 8+ will race against nationally ranked lightweight 8+ teams Central Florida, Buffalo, and Ohio University. They hope to meet Virginia Tech again in the grand final for a rematch.

Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Championship Results

Varsity 4+
1. Sacred Heart 9:23.4
2. Maryland 9:29.08
3. Duquesne 9:33.2
4. Penn State 9:37.7
5. Robert Morris DNS