FAIRFAX STATION, Va. – Villanova's Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eighth boats made Grand Final appearances at the Mason Invite on Sunday at the Sandy Run Regional Park in Fairfax Station, Va. Both boats logged top-three finishes in their respective heats to move into the afternoon races.
This was the first time since 2022 that Villanova had a pair of Eights in the Grand Finals.
"It was a great weekend for Villanova rowing," Villanova head coach
Carissa Adams said. "Thank you to George Mason Rowing for putting on another great event at one of our favorite race locations. The team had strong performances in both the V8 and 2V8, finishing ahead of their initial seeding. I was impressed with the energy that the team brought and the commitment to the plan for the weekend."
In the morning's V8 heats,
Gianna Zajac,
Maggie Coyne,
Kira Capaldi,
Sarah Robillard,
Kara Dempsey,
Silvana Torres,
Cecilia Jenkins,
Grace Quirk and
Anna Flynn turned in a second place 7:02.1. They edged fellow CAA foes Delaware and Eastern Michigan in third (7:04.2) and fourth (7:05.7), respectively, to automatically lock in a spot in the afternoon Grand Final. The group finished seven seconds out of a tie for second, taking fourth in 7:05.3. Duquesne followed the 'Cats closely in fifth, crossing two seconds later in 7:07.3 with Delaware sixth at 7:17.2.
The 2V8 team of
Madison Girard,
Sabrina Pauli,
Sage Santora,
Makenna Davis,
Rachel Patrykus,
Mary Tracy,
Katie MacClary,
Natalia Brozyna and
Julia Kreisl fell into a close top-three battle that saw seven seconds separating the trio of boats. The Wildcats finished third in 7:17.3, just narrowly behind West Virginia in second (7:13.3), but finished with a fast enough time to make the Grand Final. In the afternoon, they took nearly four seconds off of their morning race time, posting a 7:13.8 that put them sixth, three seconds behind Duquesne in fifth.
Villanova will get a week away from action before hosting a head-to-head race with Stockton on May 5 on the Schuylkill River in Conshohocken, Pa.
