Pioneers' Varsity Eight takes third at GW Invitational

Apr. 8, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On a cold and rainy Saturday (Apr. 8) in the nation's capital, the Marietta College men's rowing program competed at the 19th annual George Washington Invitational on the Potomac River.

Marietta's Varsity Eight, who placed fourth a year ago at the event, improved one slot with a third place finish this season. The Pioneers raced No. 6 Navy, No. 20 Georgeown and No. 19 Virgina in the finals. Navy (5:53.6) held off Georgetown (5:54.9) for first place, while Marietta (6:00.6) beat Virginia (6:03.2) to the line to secure third.

"I am proud of the way our men raced today," said Head Coach Chris Pucella. "We held our own against some tough teams and beat Virginia to the line. We will look to continue our progress when we race at SIRAs this weekend."

Marietta will see some familiar competition at SIRAs, as FIT, Purdue and Virginia are all expected to race at the event.

The Pioneers' Second Varsity Eight also made the finals Saturday. Navy (6:03.00), Georgetown (6:06.20) and Saint Joseph's (6:10.10) finished 1-2-3, while Marietta (6:19.70) finished fourth in the race.

"The JV boat struggled a little bit this weekend with their lines, but the men are rowing well and confident that their stearing can be worked out, which will allow them to get back on track," Pucella said.

Marietta's Varsity Four found itself in the Petite Final after Saturday's prelims. The Pioneers (7:24.60) finished second behind Virginia 'B' (7:14.60) and placed sixth overall.

Thanks to the hospitality of Dr. Richard Krause ’47, over 75 Marietta rowers, alumni, family and friends gathered on Friday evening before the race. It was the sixth straight year that Dr. Krause hosted the event.

The Pioneers will return to action Friday and Saturday (Apr. 14-15), when the compete at the SIRA Championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.