May 13, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The 2011 Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta kicked off with some exciting news for the Lady Monarch rowing team.
"We found out the night before racing began that our Varsity Eight would be the number one seed in the regatta," said head coach Dan Garbutt, whose Lady Monarchs are in just their third year of varsity status.
Meanwhile, all three of Old Dominion's boats advanced to the semifinals out of Friday's preliminary heats with both the Varsity Eight and Varsity Four winning their respective prelim heats.
Old Dominion opened racing with the Varsity Four and controlled the race from the start rowing to a time of 7:44.97 over the 2000 meter course. Garbutt commended the Varsity Four's poise on the water as ODU's time was not only close to seven seconds faster than Robert Morris, the next boat to cross the finish line in the heat, but the third fastest time of the Varsity Four's in the regatta. Only Duquesne and Villanova with slightly faster prelim times.
The second race of the day for Old Dominion was with the top-seeded Varsity Eight boat. The Lady Monarchs won their heat to advance to Saturday's semifinals with not only a five second margin of victory over Purdue, but the fastest time of regatta. Old Dominion captured the first place preliminary heat with commanding time of 6:44.74.
"It was a really exciting race," said Garbutt, who followed the boat down the banks of the Schuylkill River on bike. "The girls broke away and were immediately in control. The course was a little breezy with quartering winds, but the team handled it well and I'm really proud of their efforts."
The DadVail.tv broadcast also commented on the success and rise of the Lady Monarch program as the Lady Monarchs' Varsity Eight made their way down river.
The third and final ODU boat to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals of the Dad Vail was the Second Varsity Eight.
"That too was a very exciting race with ODU sprinting through UConn for third in the race with only the top four boats going through to the semis," noted Garbutt.
The Lady Monarchs managed to edge the Huskies for third place in the heat by .18 seconds finishing the course in a time of 7:20.08.
"This boat has shown enormous improvement throughout the spring and I am eager to see how far they can push their speed this weekend," he continued. "This was a great day for ODU!"
The Lady Monarchs will race in the semifinals on Saturday, which can be watched live on www.DadVail.tv.
Should any of the Old Dominion boats reach the finals, fans can watch on both www.DadVail.tv or ESPN3.com. Monarch fans in the Philadelphia area can also watch at ABC Channel 6.
Dad Vail Regatta - Friday Results
Women's Varsity Four
Preliminary Heat:
| 1. | Old Dominion | 7:44.97 |
| 2. | Robert Morris | 7:51.90 |
| 3. | Buffalo | 7:54.52 |
| 4. | Drexel | 7:58.86 |
| 5. | Loyola Marymount | 8:08.91 |
| 6. | Stony Brook | 8:44.41 |
Women's Varsity Eight
Preliminary Heat:
| 1. | Old Dominion | 6:44.74 |
| 2. | Purdue | 6:49.74 |
| 3. | Vermont | 7:08.85 |
| 4. | Marquette | 7:28.05 |
| 5. | Ohio Univ. | 7:32.91 |
Women's Second Varsity Eight
Preliminary Heat:
| 1. | Saint Joseph's | 7:04.33 |
| 2. | Drexel | 7:16.36 |
| 3. | Old Dominion | 7:20.08 |
| 4. | Connecticut | 7:20.26 |
| 5. | Lehigh | 7:28.38 |
| 6. | Binghamton | 8:27.39 |