TRENTON, N.J. - Fairfield University Head Rowing Coach Dave Patterson received the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm. Under his guidance, both the men's and women's rowing teams took second place at the 2008 MAAC Championships held at Mercer Lake in New Jersey.

            Patterson came to Fairfield after spending the previous two seasons as the director of rowing at Iona College. His resume also includes spending two years at Smith College, first as an assistant varsity coach before taking on duties as the head novice coach of the women's program. He also coached at the Queen's College of Oxford University.

            He supervised the Stags second-place finish at the MAAC championships with the women scoring 135 points and the men tallying 157 points. Marist College won both titles at this year's championships.

            The men's lightweight 4 highlighted the day for Fairfield, taking home a gold medal with a time of 8:04.3. Five other entries secured second-place finishes for the Stags during the event. Please check back for complete results and lineups.