For the second straight day, the Fairfield University rowing team competed in Shelton, Conn., this time taking on Sacred Heart and Iona in what could be termed as a MAAC championships preview. All three teams will compete in the MAACs on April 19 at Mercer Lake in New Jersey.

            Once again, the men's pair of James Jessup and Ben Andrews posted a victory, giving the duo three wins in three races during the spring season. The pair also posted a win at the Murphy Cup on March 28.

            "As always with this crew, it's great for them to be so successful but we're still not going to get carried away with victories," Head Coach David Patterson said. "Both rowers know there will be a shock to the system when they go up against Marist and Loyola in the pair at the MAAC championships."

            The men's varsity four of Chris Melcher, John O'Hara, Matt McDonagh, Jorge Espino, and coxswain Matt Greninger finished third behind Iona's light and heavy crew.

The women's varsity eight returned to its traditional lineup after the experimental lineup from the previous day. Christina DiCioccio, Alysse Merullo, Lindsay Ryan, Mary Crowley, Karisten Strong, Lorna Baggot, MC Taylor, Sam Rosen, and coxswain Susan Clancy crossed the finish line first, edging out Sacred Heart in the final stretch. The two crews were inseparable for 1300 meters before the Stags pulled away.

            "The Stags manage to dig deeper and pull ahead for the victory," Patterson said. "To put this into context, the last time a Fairfield varsity women's eight won a race was in 2004, so all those that were part of this victory can be very proud indeed.

"After Saturday's performance, I spent the rest of the day doing a lot of soul-searching about whether the experimental lineup had damaged the team or invigorated it with the intention of making people much more accountable for their seats. We returned to the lineups that competed at the Jesuit Invitational and the Murphy Cup with success despite not training with this lineup all week"

The Stags had two entries in the women's novice eight along with Sacred Heart and Iona. The first novice eight crew was comprised by Amelia Mazzola, Alexa Hoehne, Liz Connors, Kim Kesting, Krissi Gorsuch, Jessica Keefe, Bridgette Sliva, Meghan Sullivan, and coxswain Mia Pallari. The first novice eight picked up the victory with a strong performance against Sacred Heart and Iona entries.

            Fairfield's B entry of Jessica Curley, Kelly Waldron, Christine Beggan, Michelle Cote, Meredith Davide, Amanda Urena, Caitlin O'Sullivan, Emily Filiano, and coxswain Jen Sheils came in fourth.

            "It dawned on me that I've put a lot of pressure on the current freshmen squad to perform at a very high level in order to lay down a solid foundation for the future of the team," Patterson said. "They've competed well all through the fall season by picking up numerous medals and also had good performances in the Jesuit Invitational and Murphy Cup against some top level competition. Today, the crew put in a dominant performance, leading from the start and just cruising away to victory."

            The day ended with fours racing as the Stags placed an entry in the varsity, lightweight, and novice races. The varsity placed second behind Sacred Heart, and ahead of Iona College. The entry included Christina DiCioccio, Kim Kesting, Lindsay Ryan, Mary Crowley, and coxswain Susan Clancy. The lightweight crew of Alyesse Merullo, Jessica Curley, MC Taylor, Sam Rosen and Mia Pallari won a tight race ahead of Iona and Sacred Heart.

            In the first novice race, Mazzola, Hoehne, Liz Connors, Jessica Keefe, and coxswain Kaitlin Dinius placed second in their first race together, just behind Sacred Heart and ahead of Iona. The second novice four won their event over Iona with Christine Beggan, Kelly Waldron, Caitlin O'Sullivan, Michelle Cote, and coxswain Jen Sheils making up the crew.