Villanova competed in the inaugural 1969 Cup Saturday on Mercer Lake in Windsor, NJ. The event was hosted by Delaware to celebrate 50 years of women's athletics at the university. Villanova raced alongside from eight other schools during the day and enjoyed success on the water.
 
The Wildcats entered six boats in the events: V8, JV8, 3V8, V4, Frosh Novice 4, and two in the Frosh Novice 8.
 
V8 – The V8 was placed in fastest heat of the morning and ended up being nudged out of the Grand Final with the 7th fastest time overall, as the Grand Final pulls the two heat winners followed by the next four fastest times. Based on heat results, the wildcats were positioned to win the petite final and take 7th overall. The women felt much better about their second race performance. As the wind picked up, Villanova went on to win the petite final. They finished with a time of 7:19.9, the 4th fastest between both the grand and petite finals combined.  
 
JV8 – The JV8 had a great start to the day by finishing 3rd in their heat ahead of Marist and Fordham, to secure a spot in the grand final. They had a strong performance in the grand final finishing 4th ahead of Marist and conference rival Delaware.
 
3V8 - There were only six entries in this event, so the first heat took place to determine lane draws for a final.  The women did a great job in their heat, positioning themselves with the 3rd fastest time amongst the field, finishing behind Connecticut and Bucknell.  The 3V8 went into the 3rd race determined to advance their position and were able to sweep Bucknell away and obtain a second-place finish to bring home silver medals for the boat.  
 
V4 - The Varsity 4 event only had four entries, so they too raced their heat to determine lane draws for the final.  The women finished in 3rd with a strong finish ahead of Marist.  The final played out exactly the same way as the initial heat, with a finish order of Bucknell, Fordham, Villanova in 3rd and Marist in 4th.
 
FN8 - We had 2 entries in the Frosh novice 8 race in a field of nine.  The Wildcats ended the day finishing 7th and 8th.  
 
"This was a great race and a fun event to celebrate women's athletics," head coach Carissa Adams said. "The inaugural 1969 Cup was created to celebrate 50 years of women's athletics at the University of Delaware.  It was an honor to be part of this celebration and have the opportunity to race in an event where over 300 women athletes from 9 Universities competed for the title of the 1969 Cup."
 
This race concluded the fall season for rowing. They will begin offseason training and preparing for the spring season. Stay tuned for a spring schedule release on Villanova.com and @NovaRowing on Twitter.