May 16, 2011

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Marist crew squad had four boats racing on the final day of the Dad Vail Regatta on Saturday afternoon. The Men's Varsity 8 boat led the Red Fox effort as they qualified for the Petite Final and finished fifth.

The Men's Varsity 8 began its day racing in the second semifinal heat. In a tight race, they finished in third place with a time of 6:04.36. The Red Foxes finished ahead of Grand Valley State, Boston College and George Mason and close behind race winner Florida Tech and second place Delaware. In the Petite Finals, the boat completed the course in a time of 6:01.74, good for fifth place. Drexel won the race with a time of 5:52.98. Temple, Brock and Grand Valley State finished in positions two through four ahead of the Red Foxes. Marist beat Purdue by over five seconds.

Three other Marist boats competed in semifinal races on Saturday, the Women's JV 8, Women's Varsity 8 and Men's Novice 8.

The Women's JV 8 raced in the first semifinal and finished in fourth place with a time of 7:22.43. In the field of six, they battled with Drexel for the third position throughout, but fell 2.69 seconds short. St. Joseph's won the heat and was followed by Purdue in second place. The Red Foxes finished ahead of Fordham and Dayton.

The Women's Varsity 8 took to the water in the third semifinal heat and completed the race with a time of 7:11.28. Racing against Purdue, Cal St. Sacramento, Drexel, Dayton and Bucknell, the Red Foxes finished in sixth place.

The final semifinal qualifying boat was the Men's Novice 8, who raced in the first semifinal. Competing against the likes of the University of Virginia, Florida, Grand Valley State and Lehigh, the Red Foxes finished in fourth place with a time of 6:27.51.