March 23, 2009

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - The Saint Joseph's men's rowing team kicked off the 2009 spring season at the Jesuit Invitational in ideal rowing conditions on the Cooper River.

The Hawks competed in four events, boating five shells - a Freshman Four, Varsity Four, Junior Varsity Eight, and two Varsity Eights (Lightweight and Heavyweight). First up for the Hawks was the Freshman Four, racing against Loyola College in a two boat event. The Hawks' frosh started SJU off on the right foot, with a solid eight-second victory. The JV8 and Varsity 4 didn't fair as well as both crews got out quickly but never settled into a good rhythm at base rate.

With the Hawks struggling to find their speed in the Varsity Four, Loyola, Georgetown, Fordham and Fairfield all managed to best SJU. In the JV8 event it was a two boat race between SJU and Georgetown. After establishing a quick eight-seat lead in the first 200 meters, the inexperienced SJU shell featuring seven Sophomores, one Freshman and one junior, never relaxed into their base speed allowing Georgetown to slowly move away throughout the race for a 15-second victory.

In the final event of the day, the Varsity Eight, SJU boated both a heavyweight and lightweight shell. Again youth was a theme for the Hawks as these top 18 oarsmen consisted of seven freshmen, two sophomores, five Juniors and four Seniors.

In the five boat V8 race the Hawks' heavyweight shell found themselves in third place at the halfway mark, trailing Georgetown by one length and Fordham by 1/2 length. The SJU Lightweights were in a close fourth place battle with Loyola, back another 1/2 length open water. Both boats rowed a bit anxiously in the first 1000 meters and this took away from their speed. In the second 1/2 of the race both SJU shells showed poise and managed to find better rhythm and speed. The Heavyweights managed to pull ahead of Fordham while the Lightweights left Loyola behind and closed the distance on Fordham and their teammates. By the finish Georgetown (5:59.5) had managed an eight-second victory over SJU (6:07.7), Fordham (6:08.7), the SJU Lightweights (6:12.0) and Loyola (6:19.1).

Despite the V8 loss to Georgetown, SJU Head Coach Drew Hill was pleased by the performance of all boats. "Today was a good start to the season", said Hill. "A few of our freshmen got their first victory and our three varsity eights all gained some valuable racing experience against top-notch competition." Hill was particularly pleased with the performance of the varsity heavyweights. "The heavys took a big step in the right direction by racing smart. They kept their cool when rowing from behind and focused on moving their boat in the second 1,000 meters. With such a young crew, this early in the season, their performance gives us a lot to work with."

The Hawks return to action on Saturday, March 28th at the Murphy Cup Regatta on the Schuylkill River. With a deep and competitive field, the Hawks will have an opportunity to test their early season speed against several of the top Dad Vail competitors.