May 13, 2002

West Windsor, NJ - The Men's Varsity Eight won the Grand Final of the Avaya Championship by over three seconds, defeating nationally ranked Georgetown and Michigan in the 'Spirit of Eileen Hickey'. The victory paced Marist to a second place finish in the men's overall standings and a third place finish in the combined overall standings.

The Men's Varsity Eight won its first heat handily, defeating Colgate and Ohio State by three and eight second respectively, before capturing the first semifinal over Colgate and Ithaca by a similar margin. In the final the Red Foxes finished in a time of 5:59.79, outdistancing the 14th ranked Hoyas by nearly four seconds. Colgate placed third in a time of 6:05.58, ahead of the 17th ranked Michigan crew that finished in a time of 6:07.28, Ithaca and Orange Coast College.

The men, who had never medaled before at the Avaya Championship, had three other boats besides the varsity eight medal over the weekend. The Men's Second Varsity Eight captured its opening heat by over eight seconds, to qualify for the grand final, finishing second to Michigan. The Men's Novice Eight won its qualifying heat and rowed to a third place finish in the grand final, behind Orange Coast and Michigan. The Second Novice Eight won its qualifying heat by 7.6 seconds over New Hampshire and placed third in the grand final behind Virginia (6:34.70), and Michigan (6:37.71), finishing in a time of 6:38.02.

The women's team had two boats qualify for the regatta, as both the Varsity Eight and Novice Eight both rowed well. The Varsity Eight placed 12th overall in the regatta, as they finished sixth in the petite final, over a full second ahead of Ohio State in 12th place. The Novice Eight placed third in its qualifying heats, 10 seconds ahead of Connecticut College, and went on to a fifth place finish in the Petite Final, good for 11th place overall.

The Men's Crew will compete May 31st - June 1st at the IRA Championships while the women have wrapped up their competitive season.