May 16, 2005
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Villanova totaled 13 points and finished tied with St. Joseph's for third place in the Jack and Nancy Seitz Trophy this past weekend at the annual Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. The Wildcats finished behind Connecticut (23 points) and Purdue (14) in the competition for the prestigious trophy.
In the individual races, Villanova's top finish came in the Heavyweight Eight Race, in which teams competed for the Evelyn Bergman Trophy. The Wildcats finished second in the finals with a time of 7:26.71, coming in just over three seconds behind Connecticut. The Huskies won the trophy with a time of 7:23.24. Thirty-three teams started out in the competition, and Villanova advanced to the finals by winning their preliminary heat and finishing second in the semifinals.
The race conditions became more difficult later in the day on Sunday, and by the time the final was contested at 4:40 p.m., the outside lanes were the favorable positions. Villanova had a full-length lead over Connecticut after the first 750 meters, and held off the rest of the pack after being passed by the Huskies. The Wildcats time was three seconds faster than third-place Drexel.
Senior captain Sarah Callahan (Canton, Mass.) was the coxswain for the Heavyweight Eight entry. The other Wildcats in the boat were junior Christina Baumgardner (Pittsburgh, Pa.), junior Meg Walsh (Charlotte, N.C.), junior Taylor Malloy (Long Grove, Ill.), senior Michelle Lapp (Pittsburgh, Pa.), junior Elysse Voyer (Marblehead, Mass.), junior Nancy Olewnik (Philadelphia, Pa.), sophomore Molly Hottenstein (Wyomissing, Pa.) and freshman Kathleen O'Connell (Medford, N.J.).
In the Freshman/Novice Heavyweight Eight, the Wildcats advanced to the semifinals of finished third in their semifinal heat with a time of 7:55.88. That time was the third-fastest out of 18 teams in the semifinals, but only the top two boats from each of three heats advanced to the final. Villanova had finished third in its heat and ninth of 35 overall in the preliminaries with a time of 7:51.12.
Villanova also competed in the Varsity Lightweight Eight and Varsity Heavyweight Four competitions. The Lightweight Eight boat finished with a time of 8:17.59 and trailed Dayton, Ohio State, Santa Barbara and Central Florida in the race for the Dennis Kamrad Trophy. The Heavyweight Four boat registered a time of 8:06.41 and was 32nd of 52 teams in the preliminary heats.
Jack and Nancy Seitz Trophy
* Tied for third place with St. Joseph's (13 overall points)
* Connecticut won the trophy with 23 points, while Purdue was second with 14 points
Varsity Heavyweight Four
* Posted a time of 8:06.41 in preliminaries
* Finished sixth in heat and 32nd of 52 overall - did not advance to semifinals
Varsity Heavyweight Eight (Evelyn Bergman Trophy)
* Posted a time of 6:48.03 in preliminaries
* Finished first in heat and 4th of 33 overall - advanced to semifinals
* Posted a time of 7:23.85 in semifinals
* Finished second in heat and 2nd of 18 overall - advanced to finals
* Posted a time of 7:26.71 in the finals
* Finished second overall - just three seconds behind first-place Connecticut
Freshman/Novice Heavyweight Eight
* Posted a time of 7:51.12 in preliminaries
* Finished third in heat and 9th of 35 overall - advanced to semifinals
* Posted a time of 7:55.88 in semifinals
* Finished third in heat and 3rd of 18 overall - did not advance to final
Varsity Lightweight Eight (Dennis Kamrad Trophy)
* Placed fifth out of five teams with time of 8:17.59
* Dayton finished first, followed by Ohio State, Santa Barbara and Central Florida
