By Chris McCree
Sports Editor
The women’s rowing team opened up its spring season with a sixth and third place finish in two varsity races at the Murphy Cup this past Saturday. After placing first in its qualifying heat, the varsity “A” boat was 5:02.61 slower during the finals, finishing behind Navy, GW, Buffalo, Saint Joseph’s and Massachusetts.
“Our first race of the season was definitely a tough one. A lot of good teams compete at Murphy Cup each year, and this year was no exception,” Gabby Ors ’13 said. “Based on our training plan, I think our team did exceptionally well, putting not one, but two of our top eights in the grand and petite finals of the First Varsity Eight event.”
Along with the two varsity eight boats, the Orange and Blue had two novice boats medal at the event. The novice four boat edged out Colgate for first in its race, while the novice eight earned the silver behind Drexel.
“It was very exciting and we got to bring and race the whole team, which is always an experience seeing as we have over 60 girls rowing this year,” Sarah Riessen ’14 said. “I believe we performed very well and got some great racing experience under our belts for the coming season. Every boat was focused on their own race and was able to be very competitive in their heats and finals.”
Taking part in their first event since the end of October, the team will use this event as a launching point for the rest of the season as they look to earn their seventh consecutive Patriot League title.
“I’d say there are a lot of improvements to be made within individual boats, and we are still utilizing the first few weeks of the season to develop the lineups for the top two eights. However, I think the team as a whole is definitely ready and focused on making this season one of our best yet,” Ors said.