May 31, 2008

Rancho Cordova, Calif. - The Mercyhurst women's varsity eight placed fourth in the repechage heat at the NCAA Rowing Championships Saturday, sending the team to the petite final to compete for fifth place. The Lakers had the best time of any of the four crews over the final 500 meters, but a slow start on the 2000-meter course put Mercyhurst too far behind.

Dowling and Philadelphia University advanced to the grand final by taking the top two spots. Dowling's time of 7:13.25 and Philadelphia's time of 7:18.82 pushed Nova Southeastern and Mercyhurst into the petite final. Nova Southeastern finished the course in 7:20.15, less than a second faster than Mercyhurst's 7:20.67.

The Lakers fell behind quickly and trailed second-place Philadelphia by more than four seconds at the midway point. Mercyhurst chipped away almost two seconds off of the deficit over the next 500 meters and posted the best time down the stretch but Philadelphia and Nova Southeastern were just strong enough to hold off the Lakers.

Western Washington and Cal-San Diego will compete against Dowling and Philadelphia in the grand final Sunday for the national title in the event. Mercyhurst and Nova Southeastern will compete in the petite final for fifth place.