May 29, 2009

CHERRY HILL, N.J.--Mercyhurst and Western Washington qualified for the finals in the Division II Eights and Nova Southeastern advanced to the finals of the Division II Fours on Friday at Cooper River Park on the first day of competition at the 2009 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships. The repechage races will take place on Saturday morning with additional qualifiers for the finals.

In the Division II Eights, Mercyhurst and Western Washington each won their heats on Friday morning. Mercyhurst finished 1.19 seconds ahead of Seattle Pacific, with Philadelphia University coming in 11.91 seconds off the pace. In the second heat, Western Washington finished 25.76 seconds ahead of Dowling, with Nova Southeastern 35.63 seconds behind.

Nova Southeastern paced the field in the Division II Fours by 2.94 seconds ahead of Philadelphia University. Western Washington was 7.58 seconds back and Mercyhurst finished 13.84 seconds behind.

On Saturday morning, the Division II Eights qualifiers will take place at 10:30 a.m., while the Division II Fours qualifiers will follow at 10:45 a.m. The national championship races and petite final go off on Sunday morning.

Villanova University is serving as host of this weekend's championships.

Click on the link at the top of this release to access complete results for today's races.