PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The women's novice four captured the gold medal at the annual Dad Vail Regatta, while the women's pair took silver and the men's pair secured bronze at the prestigious event.
The novice four won all three of its race during the two-day event, beginning with a victory in its heat race. The crew defeated Connecticut in that race with a time of 7:57.53, while the runner-up unit ended its run in 8:03.57. The semi-final race was much closer, but Fairfield still managed to cross the line first with a time of 7:46.50. Buffalo was next in line, securing a time of 7:50.34. The gold medal came after Fairfield edged Clemson by four-hundredths of a second in the final. The Stags posted a time of 7:58.65, while the Tigers came second in 7:58.69.
The novice four was comprised by Genevieve Bleidner, Hope Beisswanger, Molly Graham, Bridget Butterworth, and coxswain Michelle DeJoseph.
Krissi Gorsuch and Jessica Keefe won the silver medal in the women's pair, posting a pair of wins before taking second in the final.
The Stags beat conference rival Loyola (8:13.02) by more than 18 seconds, crossing the finish line in 7:55.49. In the semi-finals, Fairfield endured closer competition from Carnegie Mellon, but still manged to win the race by nearly eight seconds. Fairfield took the race with a time of 7:58.82, while Carnegie Mellon recorded a time of 8:06.58. In the final, Fairfield (8:12.67) came up six seconds short of Brock's winning time of 8:06.20.
The men's pair of Ben Andrews and James Jessup collected another bronze medal after placing third in the 2009 regatta. The duo started with a win in its heat with a time of 7:00.76, more than 20 second better than second-place Cincinnati (7:20.85). That victory sent the two student-athletes into the semi-finals. Andrews and Jessup took first in its semi-final with a time of 7:08.16, edging Penn State (7:11.30) for the victory. The final resulted in a third-place finish behind Drexel (7:17.43) and St. Thomas (7:20.85). The Fairfield pair finished the race in 7:26.94.
