Lady Pioneers give Ithaca and Washington all that they can handle at Atlantic League Sprints

Apr. 23, 2005
Carlisle, PA - Marietta College's women's rowing team traveled to Pennsylvania's Pinchot State Park for the 2005 Atlantic League Sprints Saturday (Apr. 23), where the Lady Pioneers faced No. 1 Ithaca (NY) and No. 13 Washington (MD) College in the finals of both the Varsity 8 and 2nd Varsity 8 races at the event.

"The V8 had a tough heat, but did enough to advance to the final, said Head Coach Karen Glowacki "In the final, the ladies really uncorked one heck of a race."

The Lady Pioneers got off to a fast start in the Varsity 8 race, leading defending DIII national champion Ithaca through the first 750 meters. The Bombers and the Shorewomen then made their move on the Lady Pioneers, but the ladies hung tough and stayed in contact with Washington.

"With 500m to go, we began to push for the line and unleashed an amazing sprint that was gaining us a seat every two to three strokes in the last 200m," added Glowacki. "Had the course been a few meters longer, the ladies would have passed Washington for the silver."

Marietta finished the race with a time of 7:06.7, just behind Washington (7:06.0). Ithaca was able to pull away at the end to win the race with a time of 6:57.5.

Coach Glowacki saw many reasons to be excited after Saturday's race. "The V8 also continues to gain speed as we reach the latter portion of our racing season.," she added. "Defending the Dad Vail Gold is our goal and could very well become a reality. I'm looking forward to getting back to Philadelphia and showing the world once again what we can do."

The JV8 also rowed a courageous race, after a short week of practice that included another change in lineup. The Lady Pioneers ended the race in fourth place (7:09.4), behind Ithaca (6:29.3), Washington (6:44.0) and Mary Washington (6:58.4), respectively.

"This boat continues to improve and gain speed," said Glowacki, in reference to the JV8. "In fact, they closed the gap by more than three seconds on Mary Washington compared to last week's results. I'm very pleased with their progress and expect that they will be even faster by the Dad Vail."

The Lady Pioneers will take a week off from competition to concentrate on final exams. They will return to action Saturday (May 7) when they compete at the Mid-American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships (MACRAs) in Athens.