PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - For the second straight weekend, the men's and women's rowing teams enjoyed solid performances in a regional  meet, as the Stags headed south for the Knecht Cup. The men's lightweight four highlighted the day by placing second in the grand final to win a silver medal.

The lightweights placed second in their heat to Mercyhurst with a time of 6:59.0, just nine seconds off the winning time. The second-place finish enabled the Stags to advance to the grand final, where the team just missed out on the gold medal by five seconds, coming up as the runner-up to Mercyhurst once again. The lightweight four included Dave Brems, Kyle Halloran, Ben Andrews, Steve Ligouri, and coxswain Amanda Klecker.

"With their performances two weeks ago (Murphy Cup) and this week, the men's lightweight four has beaten all but one team it has rowed against so far," Head Coach Dave Patterson said. "This past weekend, the team defeated 15 of the 16 teams it faced, giving them a 22-1 mark against the competition over the last two weeks. if you include their win in the eight against UConn and URI."

The women's varsity pair just missed out on a medal after qualifying for the final with a strong finish in the opening heat. Becca Bowes and Mary Crowley secured fourth place with a time of 9:09.7, which was good enough to advance to the final. The duo improved on that time during the final, crossing the line in 8:59.2, but finished fourth overall. Villanova won the event with a time lf 8:33.3.

"They are training well together and are getting faster at this stage," Patterson said. "It is a positive thing for the team to have a varsity women's boat making it through to a top level final. Certainly we look forward to when we can make it to a grand final ina four and then with real hard work and ambition the eight. But at the moment, the pair is leading the way."

The women's varsity four, which was comprised of Lindsay Ryan, Sam Rosen, Christina CiCioccio, Alysse Merullo, and coxswain Susan Clancy, rowed against 28 crews spread over five heats. The team qualified for the third level final, one of 18 teams to advance to the next round. The varsity four took second in the third level final, which essentially placed them 14^th out of a list of 28 competitors following a time of 8:13.2. Rochester won the race less by less than four seconds (8:09.8).

"This crew rose to the challenge and put together a great race in difficult, windy conditions," Patterson said.

The women's novice four also advanced to the third level final and took third place behind Pitt and Lehigh, but ahead of Dowling, Johns Hopkins and Delaware. The team finished the race in 8:52.1, less than 10 seconds off Pitt's winning time of 8:42.6. The novice four included Katie Hanson, Mary Catherine Taylor, Margaret Miller, Lorna Baggott, and coxswain Katherine Halloran.

The men's varsity four placed third in its heat behind Colgate and Marietta, which was good enough to earn a spot in the petite final. The foursome of James Jessup, Jared Strauss, Scott Grady, Alex Papa, and coxswain Amanda Klecker won the petite final with a time of 6:57.9 despite facing choppy waters late in the race. The Stags edged out conference rival Marist,, Dowling, Maryland, Rochester, and Cincinnati in securing the victory.

"The conditions were rough Sunday morning for the final," Patterson said. "But the lads went out and put together a great race in the first 1000 meters before the water got really choppy, allowing them to sit ahead of the field and then row a controlled second half of the race."

The men's novice four turned in a strong performance on Saturday by winning its heat with a time of 7:26.2, a full 23 seconds better than runner up Duquesne. The team included Greg Behrens, John O'Hara, Chris Melcher, Matt McDonagh, a nd coxswain Michelle Mistretta. The team advanced to the semifinals and placed third in its second race of the day, crossing the line in 7:19.0. Colgate (7:00.5) and Marietta (7:16.8) finished ahead of the Stags. Fairfield qualified for the grand final, and placed fifth in the race with a time of 7:15.3.

"Their effort was probably the second highest achievement of all the boats this weekend," Patterson said. "The guys showed a great deal of heart in all three of their races. Fairfield is willing to mix it up with some well-established programs. They have trained seriously and are ready to take their place among the big boys."

The men's and women's rowing teams return to action next weekend when they compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships at Mercer Park in New Jersey.