March 15, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - The men's novice eight boat finished first in its race on Saturday to lead the Explorers at a regatta featuring several local colleges to open the spring portion of the season. The men faced Drexel and Lehigh, while women raced Drexel, Lehigh, Saint Joseph's and Delaware on the Schuylkill River.
The Explorers enjoyed flat waters with no wind during the races.
The men's novice eights finished the 2,000 meter course in 6:26.1, outlasting Drexel by seven-hundredths of a second. Lehigh's boat crossed 20 seconds later.
The Explorer men also had a varsity four boat and a pair racing. The pairs boat topped Drexel by 25 seconds with a time of 7:52.1. The varsity fours finished third out of three boats, but was only four seconds off of the top time. The Explorers clocked 7:09.2.
On the women's side, a varsity eight boat and novice eight boat were entered in the races. The novice eights finished fifth with a time of 8:08.0, while the varsity eights clocked a 7:27.0 for fifth.
The Explorer rowing team returns to the water on Saturday, March 28th, when they compete in the Murphy Cup on the Schuylkill River.
