Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's rowing squad continued its 2013 spring season this past weekend by taking part in the Sacred Heart Invitational, a two-day invite in Fairfield, Conn., against a fellow Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe.
Highlighting Saturday's races was the RMU Novice 4, which posted a time of 10:09.98 to earn silver and trail only Fairfield. The boat consisted sophomore Victoria Lomax (Willingboro, N.J. / John W. Hallahan Catholic) as the coxswain, freshman Donna Muschar (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Perry) as the bow, freshmen Paige Oster (Mantua, Ohio / Cuyahoga Valley Christian) and Emily Foster (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Trinity) and freshman Rebekah Noorlag (Beaver, Pa. / Beaver County Christian) as the stroke.
In Varsity 8 action, the Colonials ran a pair of boats, one placing third with a time of 9:09.80 and the second squad earning a second-place finish with a final tally of 9:14.20 in a straight head wind.
"The Sacred Heart Invitational was an excellent opportunity to see where we are as a program at this early segment of our season," head coach Midge McPhail-Burks said. "We are doing very well in some areas and really need to work harder in other areas. The good news is we definitely can and will make improvements, which will put us in an exciting position for the conference championships. I was really pleased with our two Varsity 8 performances as well as our Novice 4."
The first Varsity 8 boat included sophomore Laura Mooradian (St. Catharines, Ontario / Denis Morris) as the coxswain and sophomore Julie Miller (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Catholic) as the bow, junior Megan Coleman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Northgate), sophomores Brianna Hellier (Beaver, Pa. / Beaver Area) and Kelsey Porter (Mount Pleasant, Pa. / Mount Pleasant), senior Ashley Wright (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland), sophomore Heather Hodges (Valencia, Pa. / Mars Area), freshman Caitlin Ryan (Pittsford, N.Y. / Pittsford Sutherland) and sophomore Kristin Fay (Philadelphia, Pa. / Philadelphia) as the stroke.
The second Varsity 8 boat for Robert Morris was comprised of freshman Angelica Tomlinson (Dayton, Ohio / Chaminade-Julienne) as the coxswain, senior Caitlin Mullin (Irwin, Pa. / Penn-Trafford) as the bow, junior Rebecca Cole (Glenville, Pa. / Christian School of York), sophomore Erica Sablofski (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum), freshman Bridget Robinson (Voorhees, N.J. / Eastern), sophomore Cassandra Grafton (Hartstown, Pa. / Jamestown Area), senior Jamie Witsch (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Catholic), freshman Samantha Gunn (Buffalo, N.Y. / Holy Angels Academy) and freshman Kelley Bittner (Gibsonia, Pa. / Plum) as the stroke.
In the other race Saturday, the RMU Varsity 4 placed sixth, posting a time of 10:35.70. The boat consisted of sophomore Caitlin Martin (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Upper St. Clair) as the coxswain an freshman Erin Douglas (Jefferson, Md. / Brunswick) as the bow, senior Mackenzie Chambers (Auburn Hills, Mich. / Berkley), sophomore Althea O'Brien (Sewickley, Pa. / Eden Christian Academy) and Coleman as the stroke.
On Sunday afternoon at the Sacred Heart Invite with a tail win, the RMU Varsity 8 placed third with a time of 6:48.90, while the second Varsity 8 placed second thanks to a final tally of 7:01.60.
Robert Morris also had a pair of boats in the Varsity 4, with the Colonials posting times of 8:06.60 and 8:19.90, respectively. Martin served as the coxswain for the faster boat, while the latter featured Lomax as the coxswain.
