JU rowing put the icing on top of a successful 2009 season by having three of its five boats reach the Grand Final while the Men’s Junior Varsity 8 took home silver in the final day of the prestigious Dad Vail Regetta, Saturday on the Schulykill River in Philadelphia, Pa.

The 71st annual regatta features more than 100 colleges and 3,300 rowers from the United States and Canada.

The Women’s Varsity 4 with coxswain Jamie Goldstein, Stephanie Bechtold, Danielle Fournier, Jenna Barker and Jill Carmody advanced to the Grand Final after placing second with a time of 7:28.15 behind Brock (7:26.21) but ahead of Old Dominion (7:32.94), Villanova (7:38.82), Drexel (7:47.85) and Colgate (7:56.66).

In the Margaret McNiff Trophy Grand Final, the squad placed sixth with a time of 7:47.50 behind UC Irvine (7:36.36), Brock (7:37.37), Drake (7:40.67), Stetson (7:40.91) and Tulsa (7:41.18).

The Women’s Pair with Kelly Burke and Karly Greer placed fourth in the Final with a mark of 9:06.27 behind Toronto Miss (8:25.07), Brock (8:36.34) and Carneigie Mellon (8:45.15) but ahead of Oklahoma City (9:16.01) and Pittsburgh (9:35.67).

“We did an excellent job this weekend by advancing two of our three boats into the finals,” said JU women’s head coach Anna Talucci. “The racing conditions were tough this weekend, but we did a great job adapting to them.

“The Varsity Four had a very competitive field and it was great to see a six boat race all the way down the course. The Pairs race almost didn’t happen because of the weather, so to be racing in the final for them was huge. They did an excellent job coping with the conditions and finishing fourth.”

The Men’s Junior Varsity 8 consisting of coxswain Anthony Magro, Andy Davis, Kevin Friedlander, John Gerety, Joey Civello, Chris Ottie, Parker Lawler, Wayne Reichard and Chris Barse placed second in the Ernie Bayer Trophy Grand Final with a mark of 6:15.01 behind Temple (6:12.51) but ahead of Grand Valley State (6:17.77), Michigan (6:20.95), Delaware (6:23.18) and Purdue (6:24.66).

"The Junior Varsity 8 rowed an exciting race,” said JU men’s head coach Jim Mitchell. “The conditions got tough, but they went for it and it paid off. They did it right by racing their best race in the last race of the season for a silver medal. We were really impressed with the way those guys attacked the race. It was especially great to see Joey Civello finish his career on the medal's dock."

The Men’s Varsity 8 with coxswain Tom Richards, Dylan Kosten, Richmond Jones, Eric Negaard, Bradley Woodrum, Issac LaCount, Isaiah LaCount and Tyler Humphrey just missed the Grand Final by placing third with a time of 5:41.86 behind Grand Valley State (5:38.60) and Purdue (5:40.15) but ahead of Florida Tech (5:42.09), Delaware (5:51.66) and Loyola (5:51.83).

In the Second Final, the squad placed first with a time of 6:16.17 ahead of Bucknell (6:18.11), Florida Tech (6:23.23), Colgate (6:29.33), Lehigh (6:32.32) and Temple (DNS).

"The Varsity 8 was comprised of probably the closest and toughest competition at Dad Vails in a long time. There were a lot of crews that were close in speed and it was a very fast event this year. Our guys raced a great in the toughest semi of the morning, but came up just short. They were disappointed with the results, but actually raced a great race against great competition.

“In the Second Final, it would have been easy for them to write off the race but these guys stepped up for our three seniors – Richmond Jones, Bradley Woodrum and Stefan Negaard. They raced an excellent final race of the season and it was a great way to finish an exciting and successful season."