May 10, 2011

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Marist men's crew team was in competition this past weekend at the ECAC's National Invitational Rowing Championships at Lake Quinsigamond. In the two-day event, in which over 20 teams from across the nation came to compete, it was the Red Foxes' Varsity 8 boat, who led the way with their sixth place finish in the grand final on Sunday. On the strength of all three boats making the finals, Marist finished in sixth place in the team standings with 42 points.

The Varsity 8 boat started off their weekend strong with a second place showing in the first qualifying heat. Marist finished with a time of 5:53.285, a mere .874 behind the heat winner Williams College. The Red Foxes cleared all of their fellow competitors: Colby, Bates, UMass, Coast Guard and St. Lawrence by over three-plus seconds. Racing in the competitive Grand Final, Marist finished the course in a time of 6:07.395, good for sixth place. Michigan won the race with a time of 5:57.430.

The Novice 8 also had an excellent showing at the championships. They began their weekend in Heat One as they faced off with Boston College, Williams, Tufts and St. Lawrence for one of the two coveted top two Grand Final advancement places. The Red Foxes fell just short of making the top two, but finished third with a solid time of 6:07.617, five seconds off of race winner Boston College. In the Petite Final, Marist dominated and won the race with a time of 6:10.422, 5.67 seconds ahead of second place New Hampshire.

The Second Varsity 8 was the third boat to make a final. Racing in Heat Two, the Red Foxes completed the course with a time of 6:06.783, just .395 behind the final Grand Final qualifier, RIT. In the Petite Final, Marist managed to hold off Hobart and Colby with a second place time of 6:29.093. Bucknell won the race less than two seconds ahead of the Red Foxes at 6:27.132.