May 12, 2006

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's men's and women's crew teams combined to advance seven of nine boats through Friday's heats to Saturday's semifinals and finals at the 2006 Dad Vail Regatta on the Schuylkill River. Three SJU crews took first in their respective heats, including both the men's and women's Freshmen 8s and the Men's JV8.

All four men's boats that raced advanced. The defending champion JV8 turned in the second fastest qualifying time in its category easily winning in a time of 6:11.50 to move on to the final. The three other men's boats that won moved on to the semifinals highlighted by the men's Freshman 8 which moved on with a victory in a time of 6:23.36. The men's Lightweight 4 and Varsity 8 each placed second in their heats to advance. The Light 4 finished in a time of 7:10.41, while the V8 was edged by FLorida Tech with a time of 6:12.87.

Three women's crews moved on including the Varsity 8, Freshman 8 and Lightweight 4. The Women's frosh 8 posted the fastest qualifying time of the day moving to the semifinals in a time of 7:13.51. The Varsity 8 (7:03.57) and teh Lightweight 4 (8:14.63) each placed second.

The most disappointing result of the day came from the women's JV8 which was slotted in a very difficult heat and placed fourth, failing to advance. The women's Varsity 4 placed fifth in its race.

Racing resumes on Saturday at 7:00 AM. Complete race results are available at www.dadvail.org.