May 12, 2000

PHILADELPHIA - At the 62nd Dad Vail Regatta, the defending Overall Points Champion and Women's Points Champion Villanova Crew team had a successful opening day of competition. The Wildcats had nine different boats compete today, with seven of those advancing to the next round.

The Villanova Women's Varsity Heavyweight Eight boat, consisting of bow Amber Kyle (Telluride, Colo.), two-seat Kristin Bubnis (Milltown, N.J.), three-seat Kelly Vasek (Poway, Calif.), four-seat Greta Kropp (Derry, N.H.), five-seat Meghan Sarbanis (Hampstead, N.H.), six-seat Maureen McCurry (Chicago, Ill.), seven-seat Hannah Moore (Glenville, N.Y.), stroke Lindsay Walters (Wayne, Pa.), and coxswain Chrissy Cericola (Ventor, N.J.), was tops in its heat with a time of 6:42.73, well ahead of the second place finisher, Central Florida. The Heavyweight Eight moves on to tomorrow morning's semi-finals race which will start at 10:28 a.m. Villanova, who is the defending Dad Vail Varsity Heavyweight Eight Champion, will be in lane three in its heat, looking to advance to tomorrow afternoon's finals which will take place at 4:12 p.m.

Other Wildcat women's crews that qualified for Saturday's action include the Women's Varsity Lightweight Eight, who placed third in its heat and will row in the finals on Saturday at 3:48 p.m. That boat will be in lane six and will compete against Washington University (lane five), Massachusetts (lane four), St. Joseph's (lane three), Marquette (lane two), and Delaware (lane one). The Women's Freshmen/Novice Four came out on top of its preliminary round with a time of 7:45.64. The Freshman/Novice Four rowers now find themselves in the semi-finals on Saturday at 7:24 a.m. by virtue of their victory. The Villanova Women's Lightweight Four crossed the finish line in third to advance to the finals tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. The Wildcat Women's JV Heavyweight Eight was unable to qualify for Saturday's final when it finished in third place in its heat (top two advance).

On the men's side, the Villanova Varsity Lightweight Eight took third place in its semi-final and will row in Saturday's 4:00 p.m. final versus St. Joseph's, Purdue, Dayton, Johns Hopkins, and Penn St. The Wildcats Men's Varsity Heavyweight Four finished third in its heat in Friday's first event, and will race on Saturday at 9:56 a.m. in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the Villanova Men's Freshmen/Novice Eight won its heat to advance to Saturday's semi-final round which will take place at 8:44 a.m.

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