April 20, 2007

After performing well last weekend in Camden, N.J., the Dayton Flyers are hoping for similar success only four miles away.

The Flyers will compete in the 12th annual Atlantic 10 Women's Rowing Championship. The event will be held on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J., on Saturday, April 21.

The Flyers are coming off a strong performance at the Knecht Cup last Saturday. The Second Varsity Eight started off the day strong winning their heat with a time of 7:11.8 defeating Kansas, Boston College, Connecticut and LaSalle. In the grand final, UD completed the race in fourth with a time of 7:15.6.

Meanwhile, the Varsity Eight finished in finished the equivalent of 8th in the petite final rowing a time of 7:06.8. The Flyers were a mere 1.8 seconds behind North Carolina for first and the Varsity 8 defeated Buffalo, Marist, Colgate and Connecticut.

UD's Varsity 8 advanced to the semifinals after finishing in third in their qualifying heat with a time of 7:02.0. In the semifinals, the Varsity 8 finished in fourth with a time of 7:03.9.

"We came into that race a little unsure of our speed, especially in comparison to some of the bigger eastern scholarship schools," said Kate Sanders, UD coxswain. "We were pleasantly surprised with the results, and during the races you could feel the synergy of the boat acting together and growing as we passed other schools during the race. It's given us a lot of momentum for the upcoming regatta this weekend."

The A-10 Championship will be a tough challenge for the Flyers to win. Massachusetts has won each of the previous 11 team titles - the longest Championship winning streak in any A-10 sport in league history. Last year, the Minutewomen won four of the nine events - Lightweight 4, 2nd Varsity 8, Novice 8-B, and Quad.

Saint Joseph's placed second in last year's Championship - its highest finish ever - with victories in the Varsity 4 and Novice 4. George Washington won the Varsity 8, Dayton took the Lightweight 8, and Rhode Island captured the Novice 8-A.

Last season the Flyers finished third at the championship behind the Lightweight 8 winning their race. It was the second straight year UD has won the lightweight title at the conference championships.

The Lightweight 4, Dayton came up short to Massachusetts, 9:58.0 to 10:20.1, but still claimed second place over Saint Joseph's (11:14.2). The Varsity 8 placed third in the Grand Final with a time of 8:05.8. The second varsity 8 earned runner-up in their grand final (8:50.6).

In the preseason coaches poll, the Flyers were picked to finish fifth at this year's championship.

"This is the most important race of the season for us, and now that we've had a few weeks to really practice together as a boat, I think we're getting really excited," Sanders said. "The seniors on the team are ready to go out and make some history, and we feel fully supported by the underclassmen to do that as well."

The 2007 championship begins at 8 a.m. ET with trials. Finals will begin at approximately 11:30 a.m. ET.

Competing in this year's Atlantic 10 Championship are Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's, and Temple.

For complete results of the Atlantic 10 Women's Rowing Championship, log on to www.atlantic10.org.