SHAMOKIN DAM, Pa. – The Varsity Eight won all three of its pieces against Lehigh to lead the charge for Villanova in the team's trip to the Bucknell Invitational to close out the fall slate.
All of the varsity boats raced against Lehigh while the Novices took on Bucknell and Susquehanna.
"We had a great Fall and it is exciting to watch the team stay onPACE," Villanova head coach
Carissa Adams said. "They are all working hard and each go into practice committed to the performance standards that it will take to create a championship season. I am proud of the strides we have made as a program and encouraged about the upcoming spring campaign."
All three of the V8 races saw Villanova's team of
Gianna Zajac,
Maggie Coyne,
Kira Capaldi,
Sylvia Marks,
Jalyn Colon,
Jadyn Ramos,
Cecilia Jenkins,
Sarah Robillard and
Bailey Bryan win by at least five seconds. The first round was a3:01.27 time for the 'Cats that edged Lehigh's 3:06.96. In the second round, Villanova crossed in 3:10.15 with Lehigh trailing in 3:17.02. The final round brought the largest winning margin for the Wildcats, winning in 3:23.02 with Lehigh posting a 3:31.48 finish.
The 2V8 saw
Cate Donnelly,
Natalia Peng,
Silvana Torres,
Grace Quirk,
Isabella Thorne,
Olivia Weglarz,
Sarah McKee,
Ella Carriero and
Mary Tracy finish as close as 2.96 seconds behind the Mountain Hawks, falling in all three races. The 'Cats turned in a 3:14.52 finish in the first round to finish behind Lehigh's time of 3:09.63. Villanova gained some ground in the second piece, crossing in 3:22.18 compared to Lehigh's 3:18.38. The final race was the closest with the Blue and White trailing by just under three seconds at 3:36.85 with Lehigh winning in 3:33.89.
Villanova's Varsity 4 also fell in all three of its races with the Mountain Hawks. The first group of
Kate Shipley,
Natalia Brozyna,
Ava DeJong,
Maddie Sumnar and
Taylor Pansy clocked in a 3:40.07 with Lehigh's boat crossing in 3:33.32. The lineup changed slightly for the 'Cats in the second and third race with
Meg Wolf moving into the one-seat. Villanova fell in the second race, posting a 3:54.17 behind Lehigh's 3:46.60 before going 4:10.0 in the third behind Lehigh's 3:57.19.
The Novice 8 boat of
Izzy Cericola,
Brynn Moller,
Mary Eagle,
Anna Primmer,
Megan Theis,
Isabelle Rotival,
Caroline Kenneally,
Lilly-Kate Foley and
Abigail Saraceno grabbed strong wins over Bucknell's D and B teams in the second and third rounds, respectively, of the novice events. In the second round, the team posted a 4:12.52 win over the Bison's 4:46.43 finish. The final event of the day saw a 4:02.25 finish for the 'Cats with Bucknell crossing in 4:15.64. That same boat had
Grace Maguire at coxswain to open the day in place of Cericola with the 'Cats finishing in 4:00.65 behind Susquehanna's time of 3:57.96.
For all the latest news and updates surrounding the Villanova Rowing program, keep up with the team on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram by following @NovaRowing.
