Bucknell University Athletics
Women's Rowing's Varsity Eight Named Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week
4/26/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 26, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Fresh off a first-place finish and Boat of the Year honors at Sunday's Patriot League Championships, the Bucknell women's rowing varsity eight was named the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday.
Needing to win to earn a fifth consecutive Bison Patriot League title, the varsity eight defeated second-place Navy by 2.20 seconds in the day's final race, locking up the team title. It marked the fifth straight time Bucknell's varsity eight won at the Patriot League Championships as it was named the league's Boat of the Year for the fifth consecutive season.
In an unprecedented move, Bucknell's varsity eight also raced on Saturday, less than 24 hours before the Patriot League Championships. The Bison finished fourth, but faced a pair of ranked crews in No. 2 Princeton and No. 17 Dartmouth.
The Bison varsity eight consisted of Mary Wilson (coxswain), Olivia Knodt (8), Jillian O'Mara (7), Victoria Dudley (6), Katharine Watson (5), Taylor Jordan (4), Carol Schoenecker (3), Nicole Pilling (2) and Devon Mitchell (1). The boat included three seniors, two juniors and four sophomores.
Varsity eight members Knodt, Mitchell and Wilson are part of a seven-person senior class that contributed to four Patriot League titles during their time at Bucknell. It is the second consecutive senior class to graduate with four Patriot League crowns.
The varsity eight was put in position to claim the deciding race because of the success of the Bison second varsity eight and varsity four in the morning's first two races. The second varsity eight won its race by the widest margin in Patriot League Championships history, while the varsity four took second to Navy.
The Patriot League Championships were held on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., and the Bison will return to that site this coming Saturday to compete in the New England/Mid-Atlantic Regional.
