May 13, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Villanova women's rowing team concluded competition at the Dad Vail Regatta on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats had two entries - the varsity and novice boats in the heavyweight eight races - advance to the semifinals, while the novice boat reached the finals in competition for the Sara Vaughan Trophy.

The freshman/novice heavyweight eight boat placed fifth in the finals on Saturday afternoon with a time of 7:31.17. In that competition, Villanova had reached the semifinals with a time of 7:19.12 in the initial heat on Friday before reaching the finals with a semifinal time of 6:57.38 early on Saturday morning.

In addition, the varsity heavyweight eight entry reached the semifinals after advancing through two rounds. In the semifinals on Saturday morning, the Wildcats finished sixth in their heat with a time of 6:52.51 and did not reach the finals. The time marked an improvement by more than 10 seconds from the ones posted on Friday. Villanova finished fifth in its initial heat before qualifying for the semifinals with a time of 7:03.4 in reps later in the day.

The two heavyweight eight boats rounded out the weekend for the Wildcats, who had a total of four entries in the nation's largest collegiate regatta. The 74th annual event was held on the Schuylkill River along Kelly Drive in the city.

In preliminary action on Friday were the varsity heavyweight and lightweight four boats, which each placed fifth in their respective heats. The heavyweight four boat posted a time of 8:35.37 while the lightweight squad came in with a time of 8:21.39.

The Dad Vail Regatta marks the end of the 2006-07 season for Villanova.