Rowing: Novice Team Earns Silver Medal

By Julie Brown for WVUsports.com
November 05, 2011 10:50 PM

Tina Griffith

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University novice rowing team earned a silver medal in the women’s Novice 4+ event, Saturday, at the Head of the Occoquan Regatta on the Occoquan River in Fairfax Station, Va.

“It was a productive day,” says associate head coach Tina Griffith. “We got a lot of good experience and look forward to going out on the water this week with a more concrete view of our goals and capabilities.”

The Novice 4+ ‘A’ crew of Brianna Dendler, Rachel Cokeley, Sarah Hansard, Enya Messersmith and coxswain Alexandra Basil crossed the finish line in 22:00.85 behind Delaware (21:35.46) to take home the silver medal. The ‘B’ crew of Elizabeth Duarte, Bethany Sapen, Virginia Cunningham, Bethany Shaw and coxswain Ashley Rumer finished the course in 23:42.68 to place seventh out of 20 crews overall.

In the women’s novice open eight competition, West Virginia’s ‘A’ crew of Dendler, Cokeley, Hansard, Lisa Deklau, Duarte, Melinda Sharon, Kaitlyn Eason, Messersmith and coxswain Basil finished in sixth-place with a time of 20:40.84, while the ‘B’ crew of Sapen, Bethany Shaw, Farrah El-Khatib, Cunningham, Caitlin Madamba, Emily Rencich, Courtney Rice, Allison Lowrance and coxswain Sarah Cochran placed 18th with a time of 23:53.22.

The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, Nov. 12, when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to compete in the Philadelphia Frostbite Regatta on the Cooper River.

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