FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's and women's rowing teams will compete against the nation's best once again this Fall as the programs' annual trek to the Head of the Charles highlights another challenging slate of events this Fall. The two teams will head to the Boston area for the October 21 head race, the middle date on a five-race schedule.

Both teams open the 2023 Fall campaign with the Head of the Housatonic on October 7, an annual race that features teams from around the region. The women's team will stay in Connecticut for the Sacred Heart Invitational one week later, heading to Shelton on October 14. The men's team will return to the water on October 15 when it heads south for the Navy Day Regatta in Philadelphia, hosted by Saint Joseph's University.

After returning from the Head of the Charles, the Stags will take a week off before the both teams close out their Fall by traveling to Ridgewood, N.J. for the NYRA Fall Invitational on November 5 and to New Rochelle, N.Y for the Fall Metropolitan Regatta on November 11. 

Both teams look to continue the momentum built during last spring's season with the programs each making historic marks that should continue their development during this year's fall season. The women's team earned a second place finish at the 2022 MAAC Championships with the varsity 8, the varsity 4, the second varsity 8 and the second varsity 4 each earning a medal during the event.

"The women's team accomplished something we have not been able to do in the MAAC for 23 years and that is put ourselves ahead of Marist in the overall standings," Director of Rowing David Patterson said. "As programs in our conference continue to grow, the challenge to remain a contender in the MAAC is so much more competitive and we should never underestimate what an achievement it was to even place second overall last year. With the number of seniors who graduated last year, on paper this would seem like the year to take stock and talk about rebuilding but sitting back just isn't in our nature. Our success next spring will be based very much on the work we do and the experience we provide for those representing Fairfield this fall."

The men's team also enjoyed a historic end to its 2023 spring season with its performance at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. The Stags collected two medals at the national regatta with the varsity 4 securing the gold medal and the lightweight 4 earning the silver medal. Fairfield placed four crews in their respective grand final for the first time as the JV4 and the Pair also reached the top race in their event.

"With the success at the Head of the Charles, Dad Vail, and the IRA National Collegiate Championship, it was a banner year for the fours," Patterson said. "The challenge this year is to push to make our mark in the eight. It's certainly going to be a big challenge. In the past we have maybe been a bit tentative in our rising to the challenge of the big boat but we want to continue to make a mark for ourselves in the collegiate environment and the best way to do that is best foot forward in the eight. With some good freshman talent boosting the squad size and ready to challenge the returners, we will set up a positive environment allowing everyone to work hard for each other to reach our goal of putting out a big boat willing and able to compete."