Gold River, Calif. – The Jacksonville University women's rowing program has competed at the highest level all season long. At the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championship, the Dolphins represented themselves, the University and its athletic department, in a quest to compete against the nation's best. The journey officially came to an end Sunday afternoon and the women have much to be proud of.
"I am extremely proud of our team, and what we have achieved this year," said Head Coach Jim Mitchell. "Winning our conference this year was a big goal that we set and reached. Racing at the National Championships is a big deal, the highest level of collegiate women's rowing, and we came to compete. We closed the gap from last year, and we will continue to strive for improvements as a program."
"We improved on each day of racing this weekend and our team was relentless. We learned a lot that will help us continue to build."
Less than a second - .846 to be exact - separated the Dolphins' varsity eight from a third place finish. One of JU's goals for the weekend was to go out on Lake Natoma and defeat a few boats. In the teams' final race of the regatta, the V8 nearly accomplished that goal with a finish over Navy.
Jacksonville narrowly paced the Midshipmen through the midway point of the course. However, at the 1,500-meter mark it was Navy that held a slight edge, clocking in at 5:18.516 to JU's time of 5:18.828. In the end, Navy crossed the finish line in 7:01.967 while the Dolphin's recorded their championship best in 7:02.813. Northeastern claimed the win with a time of 6:52.394.
The Dolphins' four was two seconds ahead of Massachusetts at the 500-meter checkpoint but couldn't maintain its momentum as it tallied at time of 9:11.130.
In the second varsity eight, JU competed against Gonzaga, UCF and Navy to round out the field with a time of 7:43.942.
Ohio State secured its third consecutive Division I championship after capturing the varsity eight title with 126 points, defeating California and Brown. Washington and Virginia rounded out the top five, followed by Stanford, Texas, Washington State, Yale and Michigan.
Jacksonville concludes its 2015 campaign with numerous accolades. A few of them include: a MAAC Championship title, a FIRA title, creating program history at the SIRA Regatta with a pair of medals earned, MAAC Boats of the Year in the varsity eight and second varsity eight, MAAC Women's Coach of the Year in Mitchell and nine All-Academic Team honorees.
"These women did a great job balancing their academic work, social lives, and training this year," continued Mitchell. "That's a difficult task, but it's what makes our program competitive."
Another important figure within the program is Assistant Coach Mike Peterson. It is his recruiting efforts that have allowed the Dolphins to bring such highly competitive student-athletes to what was their first-ever invitation to the NCAA Championships last season and on forward.
Mitchell had this to say about his assistant and university support:
"We wouldn't be racing at this level if it wasn't for the work of Coach Peterson. He and I have only been coaching the women for three years, and we have been to the national championship for the last two. We work really well together and the team loves him. The support from Dr. Horner has also been amazing this year. We really appreciate the leadership from the top down."
Women's I Eight
Coxswain - Lauren Whetzel; 8 - Danielle Keeler; 7 - Stefanie Keeler; 6 - Julianna Welch; 5 - Jessica Mathews; 4 - Veronika Stasaityte; 3 - Bridget Keough; 2 - Victoria Hernandez; 1- Stacey Price
Women's II Eight
Coxswain - Claire McLenna; 8 - Micaela Hill; 7 - Victoria Tkacz; 6 - Kelly Cleveland; 5 - Ashley Hirt; 4 - Jennifer Pavlik; 3 - Joan Spinelli; 2 - Tori West; 1 - Rylie Ayles
Women's I Four
Coxswain - Monica Hakun; 4 - Emily Woods; 3 - Jodi Coia; 2 - Sydney Warpness; 1 - April Beck
