By Tim Marcin
Elm Sports Editor
It has been an amazing year for women’s rowing. Much has been made of the national rankings of the lacrosse teams, and rightly so—it takes a lot to be nationally ranked in any sport. There has been less attention, however, on the ascension of the women’s rowing team, who are now number 11 in the country.
This past weekend, the squad once again found success as they won the Petite Final of the Varsity Eight at Occoquan Sprints, a regatta in Lorton, Va.
The Shorewomen’s varsity eight just missed qualifying for the grand final, placing third in its heat with a time of 5:49.42. Bucknell’s “B” boat was less than a second ahead of WC, earning them a spot in the grand final and narrowly edging the Shorewomen into the petite final.
WC did not let that phase them however, and they went on to dominate the lesser of the two finals. The team of sophomore Christie Phebus (the coxswain), sophomore Kelly Bird, senior Rachel benders, senior Kate Fiori, sophomore Mickey Fili, sophomore Taira Sullivan, junior Valeria DiLisi, sophomore Ashley Miles and junior Ellie Hilton simply dominated the race. They won by an almost full five seconds, completing the race in a stellar 6:27.20. The second place Duquesne came in at 6:32.18, well behind the pace of the Shorewomen.
While they missed out on the grand final, the Shorewomen put forth a performance in Virginia that clearly demonstrates why they deserve their national ranking, and perhaps a little more attention around campus.