WORCESTER, Mass. (April 14, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University rowing team competed at the Assumption College Invitational this Saturday on Lake Quinsigamond.

“We finally got on the water for a few minutes Thursday and a short practice on Friday before we had to load the trailer,” said head coach Sarah Caruthers.” We knew we needed more time on the water, but was excited to see where we were at.”

The varsity 8+ boat started the day of competition with an 8:40 a.m. contest. Their lineup consisted of junior Shelby Telega (South Deerfield, Mass.), freshman Katrina Wilson (Rindge, N.H.), junior Hannah Eldridge (Whitinsville, Mass.), senior Jenna Chiavelli (Methuen, Mass.), junior Kaitlin Morin (Raymond, N.H.), junior Holly Hay (Miller Place, N.Y.), freshman Nicole McIntosh (North Pole, Alaska), sophomore Sophia Alexandrou (Windham, N.H.) and senior Grace Walker (Greenfield, Mass.).

They came in third place with a time of 8:05.

“The Varsity 8 came out of the start rough but moved on from that and had a solid attack down the course. Unfortunately, the V8 had an issue with their cox box, so we were not able to attack the race as we had planned. Overall, we were very happy with the boat’s first race of the season. This was our first time racing an 8 in the spring for the program.”

The varsity four team of Telega, Alexandrou, Chiavelli, Hay, and Eldridge raced second on Saturday and brought home a fourth-place finish completing the event in 8:44.

“The Varsity 4 took their oars from the 8 and hopped in the 4 and went straight to the start for their next race. From the start, we had a good battle going on with Assumption and Johnson & Wales. The girls were tired from the previous race, but fought hard and had a good race.”

The final boat racing at Assumption was the JV4+ squad; McIntosh, Wilson, freshman Emalee Frady (Anaheim, Calif.), junior Kellie Crandall (North Stonington, Conn.) and Walker participated as a novice 4+ in the JV event.

“Our goal for the Novice 4 today was to row down the course. They had very little water time and for freshman, Frady, it was her very first time in the boat! They did amazing in the JV 4+ event and battled Bryant B and Johnson & Wales the entire way down. We were very happy for our novices today!”

Caruthers capped off the race weekend saying “Overall it was a great day of racing and we are excited to finally be back on the water and look forward to seeing what we can accomplish this week before next weekend.”

The Ravens head back out on the water next Saturday, April 21st when they travel to the University of Massachusetts – Lowell for the River Hawk Challenge.

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). You can also follow the rowing team on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FPURowing/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpurowing/).