4/7/2003 PRINCETON, N.J. - On Saturday, the Georgetown heavyweights faced the Cornell Big Red (#6 USRowing Coaches Poll) in Princeton.  With overcast skies and flat water, the stage was set for fast racing.

In the varsity eight event, the Hoyas had a strong start, moving with Cornell for the first 250 meters. However, the powerful Big Red settled into a strong rhythm and slowly moved away from the Hoyas. With 1000 meters to go, the Hoyas found themselves a boat length down to Cornell.  Georgetown took a move and began to slowly eat away at the Cornell lead until the 400 meter mark, when the Big Red moved into their sprint and pulled away for good, crossing the finish line eight seconds ahead of Georgetown.

In the men's junior varsity race, the Hoyas went up against a strong Cornell squad which last year finished second in the country. The Hoyas attacked aggressively at the start taking a seat on its high strokes before settling to its race cadence. The boats battled, and with 500 meters down the Hoyas were only three seats behind. As the race proceeded, the Big Red pushed away and were up bow to stern halfway through the race. Georgetown tried to answer coming into the last 1000 but Cornell proved too strong, and continued to add to its lead. In the end, Georgetown finished 9.3 seconds behind Cornell.

In the other three races of the day, the Hoya varsity four lost to the Cornell A and B boats by thirteen and three seconds respectively, the freshman eight finished 18 seconds behind the Big Red, and the freshman four lost to the Cornell A boat by 17 seconds and the B boat by three seconds.

Saturday, April 12 the Hoyas face a tough field at home on the Potomac at the George Washington Invitational Regatta. The Invitational will pit the Hoyas against local rivals George Washington and Virginia, mid-western force Marietta, and national powers  #9 Navy and #16 Temple.

Lineups:

Varsity 8

C   Alex Taft (Goshen, Ky./Kent School; Conn.)

S    Matt Hallisey (Durham, N.H./Phillips Exeter Academy; N.H.)

7    Scott Stapleton (Oakland, Calif./College Preparatory School; Calif.)

6    Rob McLane (Millerstown, Pa./Lancaster Country Day School; Pa.),

5    David Benchener (Newtown, Pa./St. Ignatius Prep; Calif.)

4    Tyler Holt (Chicago, Ill./Latin School of Chicago; Ill.)

3    Noah Bergman (Keene, N.H./Northfield Mount Hermon; Mass.)

2    Eric Hilmo (Springfield, Va./Pine Forest Senior HS; Va.)

B    Ed Miller (Sewickley, Pa./Taft School; Conn.)

Junior Varsity 8

C   Dennis O’Donnell (Conshohocken, Pa./La Salle College Preparatory; Pa.)

S    Tom Farnoly (Vineland, N.J./St.Augustine Preparatory; N.J.)

7    David Fernandez (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Preparatory School; N.Y.)

6    Andrew Brown (Bridgewater, Mass./Thayer Academy; Mass.)

5    Matt Sykes (Conway, N.H./Brewster Academy; N.H.)  

4    Ryan Schafer (Grosse Point Farms, Mich./University Liggett School; Mich.)

3    Tim Lepczyk (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit; Mich.)

2    Eric Pohlman (Camarillo, Calif./Chaminade College Preparatory; Calif.)

B    Jack Newcombe (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola HS; Calif.)

Varsity 4

C   Steph Webber (Kittery, Maine/R.W. Traip Academy; Maine)

S    Pat King (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Preparatory; Wash.)

3    Alex Lazur (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt HS; Pa.)

2    Tony Boyd (Kearney, N.J./St. Peter's Preparatory; N.J.)

B    Robert Fritz (Stuttgart, Germany/Gymnasium Korntal; Germany)