CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Three Fairfield University fours entered the 2008 Head of the Charles and performed well in the prestigious event. The men's four highlighted the afternoon by placing in the top half of the overall field.

The men's shell finished 15th overall (43 entries) in its race with a time of 17:51.05, which gave the team an automatic berth to the next year's event. The four included coxswain Kate Halloran, James Jessup, John O'Hara, Chris Melcher, and Ben Andrews.

"I thought this was an good effort by our team and that fact that it earned an automatic berth to next year's race is a just reward for their hard work," Head Coach David Patterson said. "As we head into the final race of the season, we still have to work hard to stack up against MAAC teams next spring."

The women's club four team finished 16th in its race with a time of 20:24.1 behind the efforts of coxswain Susan Clancy, Becca Bowes, Mary Crowley, Jessica Keefe, and Mary Catherine Taylor. Against a stronger field, the women's four was also able to finish high enough to earn an automatic qualifier to next year's Head of the Charles.

"We made improvements from last year to this year," Patterson said. "Last year, we earned an automatic qualifier by a mere couple thousandths of a second, but received the qualifier by more than five seconds this year. We will continue to train hard to make our four even stronger for the spring season."

The Stags placed a second entry into the women's club four, which crossed the finish line in 20:54.8. The boat consisted of coxswain Mia Pallari, Lindsay Ryan, Sam Rosen, Christina DiCioccio, and Sam Kiersey.

"They rowed well and they felt positive that they had a good row," Patterson said. "I felt that they worked hard to try and secure an automatic entry for next year, but a very competitive field prevented them from accomplishing their goal. I felt very good about their effort."

The 2008 Fall season concludes on November 2 when the Stags compete at the Fall Metropolitan Championships in New Rochelle.