Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's rowing team competed in the 2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Association (MAAC) Championships Saturday afternoon at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J., placing fifth with a final point tally of 23.
Marist claimed the 2013 MAAC Championship with 45 points, followed by Fairfield (43), Canisius (35) and Drake (26). Following RMU were Jacksonville (20), Sacred Heart (13) and Iona (9).
"The addition of the NCAA automatic qualifier in our conference really became a catalyst for all the teams to step it up," head coach Midge McPhail-Burks said. "All of our boats raced extremely well, and I am very proud of them. When all of your boats make the grand finals, it's a success. The racing was very tight, as our Varsity 8 lost their race by .01 seconds. We leave this conference championship as a very young team ready to prove our full potential next season."
In the Varsity 8, the Colonials took part in the first heat, posting a time of 7:22.93. In the Grand Final, Robert Morris placed sixth with a time of 7:17.85 to earn nine points.
The boat consisted of sophomore Laura Moordian (St. Catharines, Ontario / Denis Morris) as the coxswain and also featured junior Megan Coleman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Northgate), freshmen Caitlin Ryan (Pittsford, N.Y. / Pittsford Sutherland) and Kristin Fay (Philadelphia, Pa. / Philadelphia), sophomores Brianna Hellier (Beaver, Pa. / Beaver Area) and Heather Hodges (Valencia, Pa. / Mars Area), senior Ashley Wright (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) and sophomores Kelsey Porter (Mount Plesant, Pa. / Mount Plesant) and Julie Miller (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Catholic).
In the Second Varsity 8, RMU placed second in heat one with a time of 7:37.74 and in the Grand Final pulled in 10 points by placing fourth with a time of 7:29.21.
Freshman Angelica Tomlinson (Dayton, Ohio / Chaminade-Julienne) served as the coxswain for RMU's Second Varsity 8, and the boat also included freshmen Kelley Bittner (Gibsonia, Pa. / Hampton) and Samantha Gunn (Buffalo, N.Y. / Holy Angels Academy), senior Jamie Witsch (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Catholic), sophomores Cassandra Grafton (Hartstown, Pa. / Jamestown Area) and Erica Sablofski (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum), freshman Bridget Robinson (Voorhees, N.J. / Eastern), junior Rebecca Cole (Glenville, Pa. / Christian School of York) and senior Caitlin Mullin (Irwin, Pa. / Penn-Trafford).
The RMU Varsity 4, which was a boat comprised of entirely novices for the Colonials, earned second in its heat with a final tally of 8:24.01. In the Grand Final, Robert Morris earned four points thanks to a time of 8:12.24 to place fifth.
The boat consisted of sophomore Victoria Lomax (Willingboro, N.J. / John W. Callahan Catholic) as the coxswain and freshmen Rebekah Noorlag (Beaver, Pa. / Beaver County Christian), Emily Foster (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Trinity), Paige Oster (Mantua, Ohio / Cuyahoga Valley Christian) and Donna Muschar (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Perry).
Robert Morris returns to the water with the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa., which takes place Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11.
