April 12, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Four of La Salle's five boats advanced past the heat round at the Knecht Cup on Saturday and Sunday to pace a successful weekend for the Explorers on the Cooper River in Camden, NJ. The Explorers were led by the women's novice fours which went to the grand final.
The women's novice fours finished sixth in the grand final on Sunday with a time of 8:41.68. Colgate won the race in 7:57.74, followed by Villanova and Miami. The novice fours advanced to the grand final via a win in Semifinal 3 on Saturday, where they edged Penn State by 22-hundredths of a second. The Explorers posted an 8:18.61 to the Nittany Lions' 8:18.83. Earlier on Saturday, they placed second in Heat 4 with an 8:42.61 to advance to the semi.
Three men's boats competed in Sunday's petite finals, including the varsity pair, novice fours and varsity eights. The men's novice four boat won the petite final with a time of 7:11.92, a 12-second win over second-place Villanova (7:23.49). They advanced to the petite final vis a third placed finish in Semifinal 1 on Saturday, and were just 1.5 seconds out of the grand final as they clocked a 7:00.77 to Colgate's 6:59.27.
The novice fours advanced past the heat round with a win in Heat 1. They rowed a 7:08.28, besting Colgate in that round by 15 seconds.
The men's varsity pair posted a third place finish in the petite final as they clocked an 8:04.40, behind Duquesne (7:49.30) and Saint Joseph's (7:58.86). They finished fifth in Semifinal 2 to advanced to the petite final, clocking a 7:57.70. They advanced past the heats with an 8:14.72 for fourth place in Heat 2. The top two teams in each heat, plus the three next fastest times, advanced to the semifinals and the Explorers' time qualified them.
Rounding out the weekend for the Explorers was the men's varsity eight, which finished fourth in the petite final with a time of 6:04.57. The Explorers were within 10 seconds of the winning Marietta boat.
The Explorers return to the water on Saturday (4/17). The women's squad will compete in the Atlantic 10 Championship on the Cooper River while the men's team will compete in the Kerr Cup on the Schuylkill.
