March 19, 2013

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown women's rowing team competed in the Oak Ridge Invitational on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., this past weekend, securing wins in two of the three races over the course of the regatta.

On a warm, sunny but windy Saturday morning, the Varsity Eight (coxswain Devon O'Brien, stroke Carly McCaffrey, Laura Collins, Savannah Kochinke, Meaghan Keefe, Keara Schmeiser, Ally Flinn, Alex Guyton and Sam Smolka) defeated Alabama and Dayton, finishing first in a time of 7:04.8. Alabama was 5.6 seconds behind at 7:10.4 and Dayton was 15.2 behind in 7:20.0.

The Hoya Second Varsity Eight (coxswain Alison Nagle, stroke Tegan Campia, Meaghan Bresnahan, Lauren Abrams, Emily Carbone, Emily Buongiorno, Jen Bisgaier, Jocelyn Hlawaty and Lindsey Bragg) finished second behind Alabama and ahead of Dayton in a time of 7:26.9.

The Varsity Four (coxswain Mikaela Medeiros, stroke Nora Welsh, Kate Danielsen, Lena Jaffe and Alex Livesay) also finished second in a time of 8:27.9.

"I was pleased with how we executed our first race this year," Head Coach Miranda Paris said. "We have a great deal to work on, but the mentality as we approach competition this year is so different from last year. Our goal was to stay internally focused and execute our best performance, rather than letting other crews dictate the terms of the race or influence our emotions."

Saturday afternoon proved more challenging, as the Hoyas lined up against 2012 NCAA Champions UVA and Big East Champions Notre Dame, finishing third in all three races.

"Our team's goal is to be nationally competitive," Paris said. "If you want to go fast, you've got to see what fast is to have a sense for where you are and where you need to go. While we would love to be closer to both teams right now, we have a very young, developing team with a great deal of speed yet to be found. I'm looking forward to seeing Notre Dame again at the BIG EAST Championships in May."

Sunday morning started off again with a win in the Varsity Eight over Buffalo and West Virginia. The Hoyas won in a time of 6:58.6, 4.2 seconds ahead of Buffalo and 11.4 ahead of West Virginia.

"I am particularly proud of how this crew is demonstrating their ability to stay composed and do what they need to do to get their bow ahead," Paris said. The Hoya Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four both finished third.

The Hoyas next compete at home on the Potomac River against UNC in the Class of 2006 Cup on Saturday, March 30. Follow them on Twitter @HoyaRowing or on Facebook for more frequent updates on the team's progress.