SCHUYLKILL RIVER, PA - The Iona College rowing programs competed on the opening day of the 2022 DAD Vail Regatta at the Schuylkill River. In 2021 the men's program for the first time ever walked away with two medal winning performances, marking the 9th and 10th medals in program history. The women last competed here in 2019 and their lightweight four reached the grand final and finished 6th overall.  It was Iona's strongest result at the regatta in 28 years.

RACE SUMMARY

Unfortunately in the men's pair, a poor start to the race cost them an opportunity to race in Saturday's grand final. Their heat was significantly faster than the other heat so the error was incredibly costly. They will race on Saturday in the second level final for a bittersweet consolation.

In the women's freshman/novice four, Iona had a very successful day navigating heats in the morning from which they advanced to the semi final, from which they advanced to the grand final!

The women's Varsity 4 needed to finish in the top four of their heat to advance to the semi finals in which they were successful. Later on in the day they raced the semi final for their chance to reach the grand final. The field proved to be too strong for the Gaels so tomorrow they will have a shot in the 2nd level final.
 
The men's lightweight four raced in a "race for lanes" which is nothing more than a formality for 80 percent of the race. The finish order determines which lane each crew will occupy in the grand final. The finish order was the exact order of the pre-race seeding.

DAY ONE RESULTS

Heat 1 (1-3 to grand final, 4-6 to 2nd final)

7:09 King's Point
7:25 Fordham
7:31 Manhattan
7:37 Grand Valley
7:46 George Washington
7:54 Jacksonville

Heat 2

Rutgers 7:10.2
Pittsburgh 7:10.6
Oklahoma City 7:12
Iona 7:13
Rollins 7:14
Lafayette 7:42

Heat 4

7:36 Rollins
7:38 Iona
7:39 Georgia Tech
8:16 Milwaukee School of Engineering

Other qualifiers for the semi finals: Wisconsin (7:35), Lafayette (7:38), Colorado (7:38), Tampa (7:42), Princeton (7:45.3), Princeton (7:47), Penn State (7:48), Georgetown (7:53), St. Thomas (8:14)

Semi Final 1 (Top 3 to Grand Final

7:36 Rollins
7:40 Iona
7:44 Georgia Tech
7:48 Princeton
7:50 Tampa
7:57 Georgetown
 
Other qualifiers for the grand final: Lafayette (7:36), Wisconsin (7:40), Colorado (7:43)

Heat 1 (Top 2 to Grand Final, next two to 2nd final)

In the women's JV 4, Iona had a respectable showing qualifying for the 2nd level final.

7:28 Wisconsin
7:55 Colorado 7:55
8:12 Iona
8:34 Manhattan
8:50 Georgia Tech

Other qualifiers for the 2nd final: Manhattan (7:46), UConn (7:53), Milwaukee School of Engineering (8:18), Cabrini (9:00)

Heat 3

7:06 Wisconsin
7:12 Bowdoin
7:38 Iona
7:46 Merrimack
7:49 Penn State
8:35 Geneseo

Semi-Final 1 (top 3 to grand final, next 3 to 2nd final)

7:06 Lafayette
7:07 Bowdoin
7:14 Colorado
7:18 Princeton
7:45 Iona
7:57 West Point
 
Other 2nd final qualifiers: Uconn (7:26), Manhattan (7:34), Merrimack (8:04)
 
6:33 Mercyhurst
6:35 Iona
6:36 La Salle
6:38 Fordham
6:49 Fairfield

Notable Nuggets

• Men's Lightweight four will look to improve upon their 2021 bronze medal.
• Women's frosh four is the first women's crew with a shot at a grand final medal opportunity since the 2019 women's lightweight four. Iona women have only won one medal at the Dad Vail Regatta in program history: 1992 Women's Pair won gold in the inaugural year for the boat class. This year's four has an opportunity to become a historic crew at Iona.

SOCIAL MEDIa