WORCESTER, Mass. (April 30, 2016) – The flow of time can be so very cruel. In less time than the blink of an eye, the Franklin Pierce University rowing team's Freshman Four fell short of the program's first medal at New England Rowing Championships since 2003, falling by .002 seconds to rivals Merrimack College. In addition to being the most heartbreaking moment of the day, it was the closest margin between any two boats of the 165 that raced on Saturday, and perhaps the closest margin between any two boats in the history of the race, dating back to 1982.

The afternoon final began with Bowdoin College, Williams College and Merrimack College establishing themselves as the early leaders in the race with Franklin Pierce, Assumption College and Wesleyan bringing up the rear in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Then, something special happened, as coxswain Hannah Eldridge (Whitinsville, Mass.), Kyra Fairley (Kingston, N.Y.), Marykate Cullinane (Medford, Mass.), Julia Canova (Avon, Conn.) and Onyeris Lopez-Maldonado (Hyde Park, Mass.) made an astonishing turnaround with only 500 meters left to go in the 2000-meter race. They pushed and pulled their way back into contention for the medals. Stroke by stroke, inch by inch, the freshmen exhibited the courage of champions as they pushed Merrimack into what was essentially a tie at the finish line for the bronze medal, and were within sneezing distance of the silver medalists, Williams College, finishing less than .07 second behind the Ephs. Sadly their effort was met with heartbreak as the Ravens fell to their rivals by two thousandths of a second, which left them out of the medals.

Freshman Four Grand Final results:
1.) BOWDOIN -- 8:08.108
2.) WILLIAMS -- 8:13.042
3.) MERRIMACK -- 8:13.716
4.) FRANKLIN PIERCE -- 8:13.718
5.) ASSUMPTION -- 8:31.940
6.) WESLEYAN -- 8:37.123

The Freshman Four began their day in a crowded seven-boat heat against Bowdoin College, Williams College, Connecticut College, UMass Lowell, Amherst College and Tufts University. The Ravens cruised to a third-place finish with a time of 8:34.117, behind Bowdoin (8:27.301) and Williams (8:26.997). The third-place finish secured Franklin Pierce a spot in the afternoon Grand Final. The team finished comfortably ahead of Connecticut College (8:48.534), UMass Lowell (9:00.367), Amherst (9:05.412) and Tufts (9:33.263) in the morning heat.

The day also included the Varsity Four, led by senior coxswain Mary Quinn (Erie, Pa.), along with junior Nicole Rode (Thomaston, Conn.), senior Kasie Tucker (Bow, N.H.), sophomore Danielle Clarke (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Kirsten Salois (Pelham, N.H.), trying to lay claim to back-to-back trips to the Grand Finals, a feat that has never been accomplished in the annals of Franklin Pierce rowing history. Unfortunately, the four ran into a very determined Clark University boat, which refused to let the Ravens take third place spot and a trip to the finals. The Ravens finished fourth (8:14.453) in the heat behind Connecticut College (7:55.331), Merrimack College (8:00.218) and Clark University (8:06.004), and ahead of Roger Williams (9:06.358) and Massachusetts Maritime (10:00.344).

The Varsity would conclude their day of racing with a second-place finish (8:31.838) to Fairfield University (8:26.423) in the Petite Finals. The Ravens also defeated Assumption (8:38.504), Brandeis University (8:46.000), Roger Williams (9:23.604) and Massachusetts Maritime (10:13.484) in the afternoon final.

The Second Varsity Four, comprised of sophomore coxswain Grace Walker (Greenfield, Mass.), senior Megan DeFelice (Chester, N.H.), senior Amanda Beasley (Newmarket, N.H.), freshman Shelby Telega (South Deerfield, Mass.), and senior Bailee Desforges (Bridport, Vt.) began their day with a fourth-place finish in their opening heat, with a time of 8:57.318, less than one second behind Bryant College (8:56.527) for the last guaranteed spot in the finals. Connecticut College won the heat (8:48.879) and Colby College (8:54.879) claimed second. The Second Varsity would go on to a second-place finish (8:59.423) to Wellesley (8:40.456) in the petite finals later in the day.

New England Championships marked the final race and farewell for seniors Mary Quinn (Erie, Pa.), Kasie Tucker (Bow, N.H.), Megan DeFelice (Chester, N.H.), Amanda Beasley (Newmarket, N.H.) and Bailee Desforges (Bridport, Vt.).

In two weeks, the Ravens travel to Philadelphia for the Dad Vail Regatta, which represents the largest collegiate regatta in the world.

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).