Franklin
Pierce Women’s Rowing Ranked First in East Region RINDGE,
N.H. (April 11, 2006) – The Franklin
Pierce women’s rowing team has earned its first East Regional
ranking in program history. The regional polls were released today by
the NCAA Division II Women’s Rowing Committee.
Franklin Pierce is ranked
first in the East Region team rankings, while the Ravens Varsity Eight
is ranked second behind Dowling College. Nova Southeastern University
and Western Washington University are the top ranked teams in the
South and West Regions, respectively.
Franklin Pierce’s
women’s varsity eight raced the top teams in the East region over
the weekend at The Knecht Cup. Dowling won the women’s eights with a
time of 7:38.0, while the Ravens were fourth with a time of 7:55.6,
just 3.3-seconds out of second place. The teams will meet again in
three weeks, along with Mercyhurst College, silver medallists at the
2005 Nationals, largely to determine the East region’s
representative at the 2006 Championships.
“It is still early in the
season, and there is quite a bit to work on in our boats, but I am
pleased to see we are now a contender for the NCAA Championships,”
said Head Coach Doug Connolly, in his second year at the
helm of the men’s and women’s rowing programs. “This is really
due to the work done over the past three years, rather than past
weeks. The entire team, men and women, have been working hard and
making improvements every season.”
The 2006 NCAA Division II
Rowing Championships will be held on May 26-28 at Mercer Lake in West
Windsor, N.J. The championship field consists of four teams and two
at-large Eights. In order to be considered for a team ranking, an
institution must have results in the I Eight and Four events.
Institutions that only race in the I Eight will be considered for the
I Eight ranking. Institutions that only race a Four will not be
considered for ranking purposes. Franklin Pierce returns to action on Saturday when it faces Clark University, Sacred Heart University and Providence College on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. |
