June 1, 2008

Rancho Cordova, Calif. - The Mercyhurst women's varsity eight defeated Nova Southeastern by 10 seconds to win the petite final at the NCAA Rowing Championships Sunday, placing fifth at the event.

Mercyhurst pulled away from Nova Southeastern throughout the race, building a solid lead through the middle portion of the 2000 meter course. The Lakers finished with a time of 7:14.58 and Nova Southeastern rowed a 7:24.42. Mercyhurst was rowing for the third time in three days after narrowly missing an automatic qualification to the grand final on the opening day.

The Lakers placed second out of three teams on the first day of competition, losing to UC San Diego by less than two seconds for a spot in the grand final. That finish forced Mercyhurst into the repechage heat Saturday, in which the top two finishers would also advance to the grand final. The Lakers were unable to garner one of those spots, placing fourth and advancing to the petite final.

Western Washington won the grand final by 13 seconds over UC San Diego, followed by Dowling in third and Philadelphia University in fourth.