George Washington University Athletics
Novice Crews Make a Splash at Princeton
11/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | Crew
Under cool, overcast conditions, the novice women's A' boat placed fifth with a time of 16:33.3. They defeated teams from Princeton, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Rutgers and crosstown rival Georgetown. Cornell claimed both the first and second places in the women's novice race, edging Yale and Villanova for the top spots. The GW women's 'B' boat placed 13th with a time of 17:00.
GW head coach Steve Peterson sees Cornell as the women's biggest rival for the spring season. "Cornell definitely is one of the fastest crews in the country. The key will be the women dedicating themselves to working even harder over the winter and then again in the early spring when we get back on the water," said Peterson.
The GW novice men's team also held their own in their last race of the season. Their A' boat, with a time of 14.24.2, placed 11th against powerhouses Princeton, Navy, Cornell and Columbia.
The men's B boat finished 19th with a time of 15:56.7.
Peterson was impressed with the performances of his teams. "I am ecstatic with the results of the both the novice men's and women's crews. Both programs finished with the best results has ever had in this race," the 1999 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year said.
Peterson indicated that the Belly results bode well for the rowing program since the results of novice crews are usually a good prediction of what the future holds for a rowing program.
"I am especially excited by the novice women's results," says Peterson. "I think they could have a good shot at making the finals of the Eastern Sprints, which would make them one of the top 10 novice crews in the country."
RESULTS Men's Heavyweight 8 (21 crews raced) 1. Princeton 'B' 13:42.3 2. Princeton 'A' 13:46.2 3. Navy 'A' 13:51.9 4. Brown 'B' 13:57.1 5. Brown 'A' 13:59.0 11. GW 'A' 14:24.2 19. GW 'B' 15:56.7 Women's Open Eight (24 crews raced) 1. Cornell 'B' 15:34.0 2. Cornell 'A' 15:50.5 3. Yale 'A' 16:18.7 4. Villanova 'A' 16:32.3 5. GW 'A' 16:33.3 13. GW 'B' 17:00.0
