Saints Advance to Petite Final at NCAA Championships

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George Repicky
The Saints' Varsity 8+ boat will race in the Petite Final for the third straight season.

May 28: The St. Lawrence University women's crew team opened competition at the 2010 NCAA Championships on Friday in Gold River, CA at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. The Saints Varsity boat finished second in their morning heat on Lake Natoma and will row in the Petite Final tomorrow after a fourth place finish in the Grand Qualifier.

The Scarlet and Brown, which entered the event ranked fifth in the country, raced conservatively in the morning heat after Ithaca College jumped out to an early lead. With the Bombers in position to earn the automatic qualifier into the Grand Final, St. Lawrence needed only to finish in second or third to land a slot in the Grand Qualifier, which they did in a time of 6:55.19.

Needing a top-three finish in the Grand Qualifier, St. Lawrence's fell just shy of the mark with a time of 7:06.06. The total time was less than two seconds behind Puget Sound, who earned a spot in Saturday's Grand Final alongside Williams (JV) and Trinity. The Saints earn a spot in the Petite Final for the third consecutive season.

The Saints' Varsity 8+ boat was stroked by junior Elizabeth Stokes-Cawley, while classmate Lauren Reed was the coxswain. Also rowing in the Dr. Daniel F. Sullivan '65 boat for St. Lawrence were seniors Jane Connolly, Amelia Bell, Amelia Lalley and Eloise Lachance, sophomore Kathleen Slocum and first-year students Jessica Burdett and Margaret Fellows.

St. Lawrence's JV 8+ boat finished fifth in its morning heat with a time of 7:13.67. The group then had a fantastic row in the Petite Qualifier, holding the lead heading into the final 600m. However, the boat was unable to keep pace in the sprint to the finish, and closed in sixth position overall in 7:20.80.

Senior Jackie Costas stroked the boat, while first-year student Rachel Gartland was the coxswain. Rowing the "Cold North Wind" boat were seniors Kate Roy, Briana Kehl and Erin Hussey, sophomores Brianna Tidd and Jeannine Condon and first-year students Britton Weber and Madeline Fones.

The Saints' Varsity 8+ boat will race in the Petite Final at 11:15am (PT) tomorrow, Saturday, May 29 following the JV 8+ boat's Third Final at 11:00am. A live feed of the NCAA Championships can be found here, while www.row2k.com will have updated results throughout the afternoon.