Merrimack Crew Takes First In Petite Final
NORTH ANDOVER, MA - On Saturday, May 4 crews from all over New England took to the water on Lake Quinsigamond for the 2013 New England Rowing Championships.
The Merrimack College Warriors varsity 4+ of Coxswain Karissa Finnigan (Medford, Mass.), Jessie Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.), Kaylee McKenna (Georgetown, Texas), Aubrey O'Neill (Pawcatuck, CT) and Lydia Staschke (Guilford, CT) joined a field of 12 boats to compete for the title. The Warriors entered the competition seeded 4th overall.
The Warriors drew lane two in the am heats, racing alongside Bowdoin College (ranked #1) and UML. Franklin Pierce drew lane four, Roger Williams lane five, and the University of Vermont lane six. Merrimack placed 4th in the heat, just missing qualification for the afternoon grand final. The Warriors improved on their time from the previous week by two seconds, finishing the 2000 meter course in 8:10.460.
"We had a bit of trouble settling onto our body pace after the start but we went right to work chasing down the leaders," stated head coach Tim Desrosiers. "We are disappointed to have missed the final but we talked about handling that disappointment and how important it was to bounce back with a strong row in the petite final."
The Warriors were dominant in the afternoon petite final finishing in first place with a strong 17 second victory over 2nd place Brandeis. Merrimack clocked in at 8:10.526, just six hundredths of a second off of their pace from the first heats.
"I am very proud of the way we rowed today," proclaimed Desrosiers. "We put down two very consistent efforts and the girls showed a lot of poise in the final. Hats off to the other NERC schools for great racing today."
The Warrior's finish the spring 2013 season at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, May 10-11.
