Lakers Have Team Best Performance at Dad Vail Regatta
The Laker Navy’s performance at the 2008 Dad Vail Championship is one that will not soon be forgotten. Of the seven boats that made it to the regatta, two took home gold, another, silver, and three more made it to the Grand Final. These impressive finishes gave the team some big points, putting the women’s team third in points and the men fourth. Combined, Grand Valley’s 32 points was just four behind overall winner Purdue University. The second place finish, however, was the best in Grand Valley history.
A boat made up of all lightweights, the Men’s JV 8+ found themselves up against some “big” competition. But after blazing through the finish line three seconds ahead of the competition, the Men’s JV 8+ became the first Grand Valley men’s eight to win Dad Vail gold. Though sailing through heats and semifinals, the Lakers were in a close race in the final. But that was only until they made their move. From there it was Grand Valley all the way, finishing with a time of 5:48.801 to take the Ernie Bayer Trophy.
The Women’s Novice 8+ continued on their undefeated season, dominating the competition and bringing home Dad Vail gold. Of the 30 crews in the event, several of which were Division I programs, none could match the Lakers as they went on to take first place in their heat, semi, and final. Coming in at a time of 6:39.824, Grand Valley finished 5 seconds and open water ahead of second place St. Joe’s before making their way to the medals dock.
After sailing through heats and a comeback victory in semis, the Women’s Varsity 8+ was ready to take on defending champions Dowling in the DII, DIII, Club event. Though the Lakers closed the gap from last year, Dowling proved to be speedy again, claiming the gold with a time of 6:43.384. But Grand Valley found themselves in another fight, one with Mercyhurst for the second place spot. This time it was the Lakers that came out ahead, finishing a bow ball ahead of third with a time of 6:48.133 to bring home silver for the third year in a row.
After first place finishes in heats and semis, the Men’s Varsity 8+ earned themselves a top spot in the Grand Final. A close race put the top five crews in medal contention coming into the last 500 meters. Though the top three pulled ahead, the Lakers were neck in neck with Jacksonville for the fourth place spot. After a photo finish, Grand Valley came up just short, their time of 5:55.371 putting them a tenth of a second behind. Purdue won with a time of 5:47.402 with Colgate and Temple following close behind.
In an amazing sprint in the last 500 meters of the Men’s Novice 8+ semifinal, the Lakers edged out North Carolina by half a second to claim a second place finish and a spot in the Grand Final. They fought hard to stick with the fast competition, but their effort put them shy of a medal. Grand Valley finished with a time of 6:05.412, less than a second off of fifth place. Delaware won the event at 5:48.857.
In only their second regatta in the pair, senior Ashley Robinson and Lauren Holben made an impressive showing in the Women’s Varsity 2- event. After winning their heat and a decisive second place finish in semis, they earned themselves a spot in the Grand Final. The Lakers stuck with the pack for most of the race, but in the end came up short of a medal, finishing sixth out of the 21 boats in their race.
With over 50 boats in the event, the Men’s Varsity 4+ faced some fast competition. In a tough heat, the Lakers came up just short of making it on to semifinals, finishing in fourth place. St. Thomas won the entire event.
Select crews will go on to compete at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta May 24-25 in Oklahoma City. After their successful Dad Vail finish, the Lakers look forward to facing some of the top club crews in the nation and putting up another impressive performance.
