LOWELL, Mass. (April 16, 2016) – The 2015 NCAA runners-up, Mercyhurst University, made a very rare trip from Erie, Pa., to New England to face off against the Franklin Pierce University rowing team, along with Merrimack College and Assumption College this weekend at the UMass Lowell Invitational. This race marked the second weekend in a row that the Ravens shared water with the Lakers, and both the weather conditions and results were eerily similar to their Knecht Cup encounter the previous weekend.

All four boats battled a strong headwind for the better part of the 2000-meter course, with Mercyhurst opening up a big lead early and Merrimack pulling away from the Franklin Pierce and Assumption boats by the 800-meter mark. The Ravens took on substantial water in their boat, as they found themselves in a dog fight with Assumption for third place.

At the halfway point, the Greyhounds had a four-seat lead on Franklin Pierce. The Ravens stormed back in the final 800 meters to overtake Assumption and lay claim to third place with a time of 8:15.6. Mercyhurst finished first in 7:40.5, Merrimack was second with a 7:56.1 and Assumption rounded out the field of four with an 8:19.6.

The three eights from Northeast-10 Conference schools also garnered points, which go towards next weekend's NE-10 challenge. With the win in the 8+, Merrimack picked up 12 points towards the overall points trophy, with Franklin Pierce registering nine for second place. Merrimack would only need a second-place finish in the fours to win the NE-10 challenge while the Ravens would need a first-place finish in the fours combined with Assumption taking second.

The V8+ was led by sophomore coxswain Grace Walker (Greenfield, Mass.), along with freshman Kyra Fairley (Kingston, N.Y.), junior Kirsten Salois (Pelham, N.H.), freshman Marykate Cullinane (Medford, Mass.), senior Kasie Tucker (Bow, N.H.), junior Nicole Rode (Thomaston, Conn.), freshman Rebecca Davies (Medford, Mass.), sophomore Danielle Clarke (Pelham, N.H.), and freshman Onyeris Lopez-Maldonado (Hyde Park, Mass.).

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce rowing apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).