Leslie Sanditen, Erica Dean, Emily Callen, Heather Brooks and Susan Stangl represented TU in its first-ever post-season race.

June 6, 2008

Camden, N.J. - The University of Tulsa women's Lightweight 4+ concluded the season with a fifth-place finish in the Grand Final at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship on Friday afternoon in Camden, N.J.

Leslie Sanditen, Erica Dean, Emily Callen, Heather Brooks and Susan Stangl represented TU in its first-ever post-season race. The crew raced a really strong race, and were in medal contention in the first 1,000-meters. Tulsa faded a bit in the third 500-meters, but put together an exceptional race.

Loyola Marymount claimed the national title with a time of 7:15.51, more than 12 seconds faster than second-place Princeton and 18 seconds faster than Fordham which claimed the bronze medal.

"I have never seen any Four, Lightweight or Heavyweight, go 7:15 on a 2,000-meter course," Head Coach Kevin Harris said. "Our goal was to go 7:40 and we did that, but that was the fastest race I've ever seen. Hats off to Loyola Marymount, their team and coaching staff. They deserve every bit of that national championship with that kind of speed."

"We raced a really gutsy race," Harris added. "Emily Callen said it best when she said `We could have raced it better, but not any harder', and that really epitomizes our team. It was a great experience for these women and hopefully next year we will come back with more experience and more speed. We represented Tulsa very well. The team held their heads high and earned a lot of respect among the Lightweight teams here."

Lightweight 4+ Grand Final
1. Loyola Marymount - 7:15.51
2. Princeton - 7:27.66
3. Fordham - 7:33.96
4. Wisconsin - 7:34.09
5. Tulsa - 7:40.71
6. Georgetown - 8:08.51