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April 15, 2008
Washington, D.C. -
The Georgetown women's crews and men's heavyweights competed in the 21st George Washington Invitational Regatta this past Saturday on the Potomac River. The men finished in third place while the women ended the day with a sixth-place finish. The Hoyas tied for third overall in the combined standings, behind Syracuse and the U.S. Naval Academy. In the marquee race of the weekend, the Syracuse men's varsity eight narrowly defeated Georgetown by 1.3 seconds to win the Oliver T. Carr Bowl given to the fastest men's varsity eight shell. The Orange completed the 2,000-meter course in 5:53.6--five seconds faster than last year's winning time. Georgetown's varsity boats defeated crews from George Washington, Michigan, Virginia and Rutgers while the novice boats won three races, two against Michigan and one against Rutgers. Both the varsity and novice squads would beat Michigan two more times apiece, when they met in tri-heats involving the Hoyas and Syracuse. Syracuse took home the Oliver T. Carr Bowl for recording the highest men's point total with 114. Navy edged Georgetown for second with 79 points, while the Hoyas were third with 78 points. Michigan was fourth with 73 points, while the Colonials took fifth with 67 points. The women's varsity openweights were victorious in races against St. Joseph's (Pa.) and George Mason, and the novice openweights earned wins over George Washington crews in two separate heats, but the lightweights were the top performers on the day. In three races, the lightweight's lone loss came to the varsity openweights from Cal-Berkeley. The ladies would defeat Cal's lightweight squad later in the day after also toppling Iowa's varsity openweight boat. We learned a little more today about the type of young women we have rowing for us, said Head Coach Glenn Putyrae. "We had been performing well against our competition the past few weeks, and to come out here and get a win against Iowa and row pretty well against Cal-Berkeley shows that we're taking strides in the right direction."
Iowa won the Howard W. Wilkins Bowl for having the highest women's point total with 108. Navy also finished second in the women's races with 95 points. The Hawks of Saint Joseph's were third with 57 points, while the Colonials narrowly defeated George Mason for fourth place with 36 and 33 points, respectively. Cloudy skies in the morning gave way to intermittent sun and clouds in the afternoon with temperatures climbing into the 70s. A moderate 5-10 mph tailwind and tail-current made for fast racing conditions in the afternoon. The event is held each April in conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The next race for the Georgetown heavyweights will be this Saturday, April 19, against Holy Cross on the Potomac. The Georgetown women will split up as the lightweights travel to Lake Carnegie in Princeton, N.J. to row against the Tigers. Meanwhile, the openweights will be on the Severn River in Annapolis, Md., racing against Navy. Both women's races will also be this upcoming Saturday, April 19. |
 
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