March 26, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Fairfield University rowing team headed south once again, although it wasn't as far as Florida. Still, the Stags put together two solid performances from their varsity 8 and novice 8, which helped the team finish strongly at the Murphy Cup in the City of Brotherly Love.

The novice 8 held their own in their first race of the spring season, taking fifth in its heat with a time of 6:10.87. The United States Naval Academy won the heat, followed by West Virginia, Philadelphia A, and Bucknell. The novice 8 entry included coxswain Therese Stallard, Emily Petrow, Alysse Merullo, Karisten Strong, Lauren Lipyanka, Caitlin Gallagher, Courtney McCord, Diana Wescott, and Mary McGrath.

The varsity 8 moved up one spot in its heat on Saturday afternoon, placing fourth behind Bucknell, Dowling, and Lehigh. The Stags edged out the United States Military Academy and Lafayette in the heat. Fairfield crossed the finish ilne with a time of 6:21.07. The shell included coxswain Daria Anuszkiewicz, Liz Ulles, Sam Rosen, Lindsay Ryan, Mary Crowley, Sara LaFouci, Jessica Braveman, Rebecca Bowes, and Mallory Reimers.

Fairfield returns to action in two weeks when it continues its southern theme by participating in the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J. The Stags will send their entries into the two-day event, which runs April 14-15. The Knecht Cup will be the final preparation for the MAAC Championships which takes place in Princeton, N.J. on April 22.