By Thomas Walter

Contributing Writer

The women’s rowing team opened up its spring season this past weekend in Philadelphia at the Murphy Cup. The Bison faced tough competition including Delaware, Saint Joseph’s and Rutgers, managing to send three Bison boats to the finals.

The varsity eight boat won its heat with a time of 6:48. With an experienced team leading the boat, the Varsity A ended up finishing fifth in the final. In a tight race, the Bison only finished behind first-place Rutgers by 10 seconds. The strong finish by the upperclassmen set the tone for the rest of the day.

“The team overall did really well considering we were unable to practice on the Susquehanna due to flooding and lightning for a few days last week,” Ally Rivard ’14 said.

The junior varsity team also competed very well, finishing first in its heat with an impressive time of 6:49. In the finals of their meet, Saint Joseph’s edged out the Bison women for first place by a slim two seconds.

The novice team, a group of four rowers and a coxswain, also won its heat with a time of 7:52. Once again another team barely edged out the Orange and Blue for first, as Duquesne won by four seconds.

The Bison return to action this weekend in New Rochelle, N.Y. at the Orchard Beach Lagoon against Columbia.