July 7, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's rowing team had another outstanding season in 2008-09, highlighted by a number of firsts for the program, led by a strong Varsity 8 boat. The Hawks won their first-ever Atlantic 10 titles when both the Varsity 8 and Quad boats took home the gold medals at the conference championships.

The Varsity 8 was comprised of seniors Debbie Bateman and Lauren Sysol; juniors Colleen Greway, Christina DiSanto, Lauren Rozsits, and Andi Hartfield; and sophomores Brianne Kammerman, Danielle Brady and Colleen Smith. Bateman, Kammerman, Brady and Sysol also doubled as A-10 champions in the Quad. The Second Varsity 8 just missed first place, finishing in second by a slim margin of 0.5 seconds. As a team, the Hawks placed third, matching the squad's finish from the previous year. Hawk mentor Gerry Quinlan was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year while Bateman and Sysol earned All-Conference First Team honors. Greway was a Second-Team All-League selection.

Saint Joseph's made its annual appearance in the competitive San Diego Crew Classic and captured its first-ever Varsity 8 title there, winning the Cal Cup. The Varsity 8 set a record in becoming the only team to advance to the Grand Final at the Dad Vail Regatta for five consecutive years. The Hawks earned the bronze medal, which gave them the most medals of any team in the past four years (gold, silver, bronze). The Freshman 8 also advanced to the Grand Final, marking the seventh consecutive year it has done so, but finished in sixth place. The Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 boats also had a strong effort at Dad Vail's and narrowly missed reaching the semifinals.

SJU got 2009 off to a good start in the Jesuit Invitational as the Hawks emerged victorious in both the Varsity 8 and Second Varsity 8 for the second straight year. At the Murphy Cup, the Hawks advanced all eights to the Grand Finals in a large, competitive field. The Varsity 8 and Freshman 8 each finished the day with silver medal performances while the Second Varsity 8 raced a barnburner to finish fourth in a photo-finish with Navy.

Bateman, who was an All-Region First Team selection by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Associatio, continued to make her mark as one of the top scholar-athletes in SJU history. She was named the Atlantic 10's Women's Rowing Student-Athlete of the Year for the second time and was chosen the Philadelphia Academic All-Area Performer of the Year for the third time. The Hawks compiled an impressive 3.4 team grade-point average and saw Bateman and Greway earn A-10 All-Academic team honors while Bateman, Greway, Danielle Brady and Lauren Rozsits were chosen to the Academic All-Area squad.