May 14, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Old Dominion women's rowing team's 2010-11 season concluded on Saturday with the Varsity Eight and the Varsity Four placing second at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta.
Both boats rowed to first place victories in their semifinal heats in the morning. The Second Varsity Eight also rowed in a semifinal heat taking fourth place, but did not advance to the finals.
The Varsity Four rowed their way to a four-second margin of victory and the second fastest time overall in the semifinals. Making their down the Schuylkill River in 7:45.80, only Villanova captured a faster time in the heats.
In the Varsity Eight's semifinals, Old Dominion finished in first place in their heat with nearly a four-second margin of victory and also the second fastest time overall in the semifinals. Only Purdue registered a faster time by .77 seconds.
The Varsity Four finals saw Villanova, the only other team to have a faster semifinal time than ODU, take first place. The Lady Monarchs crossed the finish line in second place less than three seconds behind the victors and .31 seconds ahead of third place Saint Joseph's.
The Varsity Eight finals were extremely tight with ODU taking second place, edged out by Purdue by just .33 seconds.
"I had people telling me we won and I had people telling me second," said head coach Dan Garbutt of the race in which the Lady Monarchs were the number one seed. "They had to go back to the replay three or four times to make sure."
It was neck and neck for first and second, but the Lady Monarchs were solidly in second place with a five-second margin over Grand Valley. Grand Valley won the Knecht Cup in early April, the same race in which the ODU took third.
"It was an unbelievable time. Making their way down the Schuylkill River was a tremendous team effort. Then at the end I felt as if the girls were responding to the challenge like senior athletes," said Garbutt, noting that the team is losing just one senior from this season. "Not only did we have a boat as a top seed, we were also the top team from the CAA."
This weekend's races, which were broadcast on DadVail.tv and with the finals on ESPN3, also gave the Lady Monarchs some added exposure.
"The commentators kept talking about Old Dominion down the length of the race," said Garbutt, "and they had nothing to say but great things about our program. It was great to have this type exposure to the entire country."
Dad Vail Regatta - Saturday Results
Women's Varsity Four
Semifinal Heat:
| 1. | Old Dominion | 7:45.80 |
| 2. | Duquesne | 7:49.85 |
| 3. | Temple | 7:58.56 |
| 4. | Army | 8:10.81 |
| 5. | Georgia Tech | 8:19.01 |
| 6. | Penn State | Scratch |
Women's Varsity Four
Finals Heat:
| 1. | Villanova | 7:27.29 |
| 2. | Old Dominion | 7:30.02 |
| 3. | Saint Joseph's | 7:30.33 |
| 4. | Duquesne | 7:32.18 |
| 5. | Bucknell | 7:38.65 |
| 6. | Northwestern | 7:51.00 |
Women's Varsity Eight
Semifinal Heat:
| 1. | Old Dominion | 6:49.78 |
| 2. | Grand Valley | 6:53.63 |
| 3. | UMass | 7:03.03 |
| 4. | West Virginia | 7:04.62 |
| 5. | Delaware | 7:05.28 |
| 6. | Temple | 7:14.33 |
Women's Varsity Eight
Final Heat:
| 1. | Purdue | 6:38.49 |
| 2. | Old Dominion | 6:38.82 |
| 3. | Grand Valley | 6:43.43 |
| 4. | Saint Josephs | 6:45.19 |
| 5. | Cal St. Sacramento | 6:49.87 |
| 6. | Buffalo | 6:52.54 |
Women's Second Varsity Eight
Semifinal Heat:
| 1. | Bucknell | 7:00.86 |
| 2. | Buffalo | 7:04.42 |
| 3. | Delaware | 7:09.00 |
| 4. | Old Dominion | 7:13.95 |
| 5. | Connecticut | 7:16.71 |
| 6. | George Mason | 7:31.31 |