Senior Jessica Glenn rowed in the 2-seat of the varsity lightweight eight that advanced to Saturday's Grand Final.

June 6, 2008

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (Cooper River) - The Bucknell women's rowing varsity lightweight eight advanced to the Grand Final of the IRA National Championship Regatta for the third consecutive year on Friday. The Bison finished second in the Repechage to earn the berth in the Grand Final.

Bucknell's varsity lightweight eight, which won the first national championship in school history at last year's IRA Regatta, placed fourth behind Princeton, Stanford and Radcliffe in Friday morning's heat in a time of 7 minutes, 11.097 seconds. The top two teams in that heat earned automatic berths to the Grand Final while the rest went to Friday afternoon's Repechage.

In the Repechage, the Bison recorded a time of 6:41.542 to finish just over three seconds behind first-place Radcliffe, which held a five-second edge over Bucknell earlier in the day. The runner-up showing earned the Bison their third straight berth in the IRA Regatta Grand Final.

"Words can't express how proud I am of the way the women approached the heat, and even more so the rep(echage)," said Bucknell head coach Stephen Kish. "I am very much looking forward to tomorrow's final."

Saturday's Grand Final, which will feature Georgetown, Princeton, Radcliffe, Stanford and Wisconsin in addition to Bucknell, will take place at approximately 12:48 p.m. The same six boats rowed in the Grand Final last year with the Bison claiming the trophy.

Varsity Lightweight Eight Results
Heat 1 (Top 2 to Grand Final/Next 3 to Repechage)
1. Wisconsin - 6:48.134
2. Georgetown - 6:57.508
3. Central Florida - 7:02.894
4. MIT - 7:31.042
5. Duquesne - 7:39.602

Heat 2 (Top 2 to Grand Final/Next 2 to Repechage)
1. Princeton - 6:52.695
2. Stanford - 6:56.006
3. Radcliffe - 7:06.218
4. Bucknell - 7:11.097

Repechage (Top 2 to Grand Final/Next 3 to Petite Final)
1. Radcliffe - 6:38.398
2. Bucknell - 6:41.542
3. Central Florida - 6:45.665
4. MIT - 7:04.370
5. Duquesne - 7:16.833

Boat Lineup
Jeweliet Yost (coxswain)
Kim Weaver (8)
Devon Mitchell (7)
Elizabeth Barnett (6)
Whittney Henry (5)
Meghan O'Reilly (4)
Caitlyn Oster (3)
Jessica Glenn (2)
Allison Martens (1)

Emily Fry (spare)