BOSTON - The Sacramento State women''s rowing squad began its season Sunday afternoon with a 24th-place finish out of 47 teams at the 41st-annual Head of the Charles.Considered the world''s largest two-day rowing event, the Head of the Charles features more than 7,000 athletes from around the world and is raced on the Charles River in Boston. Competing in the Women''s Championships Eight event, the Hornets'' varsity eight completed the three-mile course with a time of 18:07.84, finishing ahead of Syracuse, Rutgers, Cornell, Pennsylvania and UMass among others. Syracuse advanced to last year''s NCAA Championships.
Princeton posted the fastest time among collegiate entrants at 16:50.06, followed by Virginia (17:00.16) and Yale (17:05.37). All three of those schools advanced to last year''s NCAA Championships.
The Hornets were competing in the event for the first time in five years. Interestingly enough, Sacramento State also placed 24th at the event in 2000 and 32nd in 1999.
Sacramento State used the following lineup in today''s competition: Cecilia Vina at coxswain, Laura Harder at stroke, Brittney Claycamp at seven, Steffanie Jakovac at six, Ashley Roundtree at five, Krista Hill at four, Aimee Chenard at three, Courtney Buehler at two and Jacqueline Sechser at bow.
The Hornets return to the water on Saturday, Oct. 29, when the team hosts the Head of the American at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center.
