Purdue Crew finishes first at Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, receives invite to England
Purdue Crew has been invited to compete in the 2011 Henley Women's Regatta in England after winning top honors May 13-14 at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia.
The Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate regatta in the country with more than 120 colleges and universities represented.
Purdue's Women's Varsity Eight crew outrowed 34 intercollegiate and club crews to earn the gold medal in the grand finals. With 21 points, the Women's Varsity Eight helped Purdue Crew take home the Jack Bratton Overall trophy. An additional three women's crews and five men's crews from Purdue competed in the grand finals and earned points toward the overall trophy:
* Novice Women's Eight -- second place
* Women's Junior Varsity Eight -- sixth place
* Women's Varsity Lightweight Eight -- fourth place
* Men's Varsity Eight -- 12th place
* Men's Varsity Lightweight Eight – sixth place
* Men's Junior Varsity --fifth place
* Men's Novice Eight -- first place
* Men's Novice Lightweight Eight -- first place
Also, the Women's Varsity Eight won the Jack & Nancy Seitz Women's point trophy. In the last 11 years, Purdue Crew has earned the Jack Bratton Overall and Jack & Nancy Seitz trophies seven and five times, respectively.
With these victories, the Women's Varsity Eight has been invited to compete in the 2011 Henley Women's Regatta on June 17-19 in Henley-on-Thames, South Oxfordshire, England, just outside London. The regatta began in 1988 due to the lack of women's events in the Henley Royal Regatta and the growing number of oarswomen.
The Women's Varsity Eight will travel with 10 athletes and two coaches -- David Kucik, head coach, and Sandy Calfo, women's head coach.
This will be Purdue's second time participating in the Henley Women's Regatta. The women's team competed in 1997 and earned a silver medal.
