May 9, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - The San Diego State varsity eight boat finished second of five in its preliminary heat on the first day of the Dad Vail Regatta Friday in Philadelphia, Pa. With the runner-up finish in their heat, the Aztecs advanced to one of Saturday's three semifinal heats.
Competing in heat four, SDSU raced to a time of 6 minutes, 25.315 seconds, less than a second behind Buffalo (6:24.663). Earlier this season at the San Diego Crew Classic, San Diego State's varsity eight boat was nine seconds back from the same Bulls' boat. Fordham (6:34.318), LaSalle (6:56.593) and Georgia (7:08.317) rounded out the top-five.
"I'm very happy with the way we finished in our heat," head coach Jennifer Zebroski said. "We didn't race our best and our boat thinks they have more left. I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings."
The Aztecs will race in the second of three semifinal heats beginning at approximately 11:01 a.m. ET Saturday. The top two from that race will move on to the grand final later in the day at 4:15 p.m. ET. If SDSU was to finish third or fourth, it would row in the second final, slated to start at 3:55 p.m. ET.
Heading into Saturday's semifinal heat, San Diego State has the second-fastest clocking of the 18 remaining boats, trailing only Buffalo's winning time in the same heat.
"We're going into tomorrow feeling confident," Zebroski said. "But we know we'll have to have a good race keep going. Our goal is to get to the grand final and we're definitely moving in the right direction."
This year's Dad Vail Reggata boasts 124 schools, 200 volunteers, 516 boats, 1,633 men, 1,667 women and 3,300 athletes.
For more information about The Dad Vail Regatta visit www.dadvail.org.
Dad Vail Regatta
May 9 - Preliminary Heats
Schuylkill River
Philadelphia, Pa.
Varsity Eight
Heat Four (Top two advance to semifinal)
1. Buffalo - 6:24.663
2. San Diego State - 6:25.315
3. Fordham - 6:34.318
4. LaSalle - 6:56.593
5. Georgia - 7:08.317
Varsity Eight Lineup
Cox - Caitlynn Crouch
Stroke - Allison Hardin
Seven - Tashina Vavuris
Six - Casi Boyle
Five - Jaime Hinton
Four - Anna Ohrstrom
Three - Chloe Wiegman
Two - Christine Dickson
Bow - Mary Anne Hinman