PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Three gold medals will return with the Mercyhurst College men’s and women’s rowing teams after they recorded their best finish ever at the 71st Dad Vail Regatta.
The Lakers had won just two gold medals in the programs’ 40+ years of existence before today’s stunning performances, but with four boats advancing to the semifinals after yesterday’s events, the crews outperformed some big name schools en route to a banner day on the Schuylkill River.
“It’s a unique and special day,” said head coach
Adrian Spracklen. “This is the most success we’ve had as a whole program. It’s one of those days where you want everything to slow down because you don’t get too many of these in your life. It shows how far the program has come in the last few years and especially in the history of the Mercyhurst program.”
After the No.1-ranked women’s varsity eight claimed the top spot in yesterday’s qualifying heat, the Lakers cranked up the intensity again in the semifinals to again claim the top spot in a time of 6:43.165. In the finals, Mercyhurst got revenge against Grand Valley to take capture the gold medal in 6:50.200. The Lakers defeated other ranked teams such as Dowling, Philadelphia, Seattle Pacific and Rochester.
It marks the first gold medal in any varsity eight final at the Dad Vail.
“Our expectations were very high,” Spracklen said. “Our goals at the beginning of the year were to win medals and win championships. We put the strongest teams out there. If we hadn’t have won, we would be have been disappointed. The goal is to race to win, not take second or third.”
For the men, the victories are recognized in the rowing community as national championships since the NCAA does not official sponsor men’s rowing as a championship sport.
“To win one gold is amazing, but to win three is something that I planned for, but didn’t necessarily expect,” continued Spracklen. “ It’s really set a benchmark that will be hard to beat. It’s now set a higher standard for those who come in afterwards to maintain that level and keep that tradition expanding to a new level.”
Also earning the top time in its qualifying heat, the men’s lightweight four went on to win the Lakers second gold medal of the day after defeating teams such as Berkeley, Emory, Drexel and St. Joseph’s. The unit won the James J. Lynch trophy in a time of 6:45.004 to cap off an undefeated season.
The third and final medal of the day went to the men’s varsity pair as they earned the Bob Negaard Cup in a time of 7:21.32. Despite finishing nearly four seconds slower than the duo’s semifinal time, only one other pair on the day clocked a faster time in the three semifinal heats.
Lastly, the women’s lightweight four boat advanced to the semifinals and just barely missed out by less than a second on advancing to the finals, finishing third in 7:41.455.
The Mercyhurst women’s team will now await word on selection to the NCAA II Championships, May 30-31. The Lakers already have one title under their belt as the women’s varsity eight captured the crown in 2004.
For full results, please visit dadvail.org