Covenant News

North Park's Women's Crew Earns Gold Medal

PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 10, 2004) - The North Park University women's rowing team earned a gold medal by placing first in the Women's Novice 4+ race at the Dad Vail Regatta on Saturday, defeating Purdue University by a boat length.

With a time of 7:38:5, the North Park team defeated five Division I schools, including runner-up Purdue (7:42:2), and the University of Vermont (7:42:7). Purdue won the overall women's team title in a competition that contains several different rowing races.

"When you come to a race like this, you don't know what to expect," said Coach Tim Grant. "After the semifinal race, we were confident that we had a shot to try to catch Purdue. Halfway through the final race, the women were in second, but then they chewed their way into first."

Often referred to as the "Big Daddy" of college rowing, the Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States and the championship of rowing for developing crews. The regatta's unique trait is that the biggest and the smallest school can compete equally on the water - more than 100 colleges and universities from the United States and Canada participate in the event that draws thousands of spectators to the Schuyskill River in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park.

"I knew that we would need to have a strong crew just to compete at this event, especially when other teams have 80 to 100 rowers and we have 18," Grant says. "It is really rare to get a gold medal. Nothing can top this."

North Park's team includes North Park students Cori and Rebecca Bowman of Cowiche, Washington; Annika Saftstrom of Carnation, Washington; Alli Koubsky of Saint Cloud, Minnesota; and coxswain Erikka Treatch of Fresno, California. Saturday's win follows a significant victory for the team in the Mid-American Collegiate Rowing Association (MACRA) Championships held the previous weekend. The crew beat 11 other boats to win the gold medal in Athens, Ohio.

The women's rowing program continues in a developmental stage. Covenant News Service has learned that two additional boats are needed to properly equip the women's team to compete at the varsity level in Division I. Currently, an effort is under way to raise the necessary $45,000 for the purchase of the boats. Those interested in helping that effort may call the president's office at North Park University at 773-244-5710. To learn more about the North Park rowing program, visit the "Athletics" link at www.northpark.edu. More information about the Dad Vail Regatta can be obtained by visiting www.dadvail.org.

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