4/25/2009 2:35:06 PM
Canton, N.Y.-- The 2009 Liberty League Rowing Championships, hosted by St. Lawrence University, were indefinitely suspended Saturday morning after wind caused unsafe course conditions in the last 1,000 meters of the 2,000 meter course on the St. Lawrence River in Waddington, NY.
A Southwest wind of 15 mph and gusts of over 30 mph began affecting the course shortly after 9:00am, creating extremely treacherous conditions. The last successful race was the first heat of the Women’s Novice 8 event.
Three full races were able to finish their respective pieces, including the heats of the Women’s Varsity 8 and the Men’s Varsity 8, as well as the Men’s Novice 8.
In the first event of the day, St. Lawrence University’s Women’s Varsity 8 crew defeated Vassar College in the first of two heats in the event, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:09.7, while the Brewers finished at 6:38.9. William Smith College then took top honors in the second heat with a time of 6:09.5, while Skidmore placed second at 6:18.5
In the Men’s Varsity 8 heats, Hobart’s Varsity crew defeated their JV crew as well as Vassar’s entry with a time of 5:27.8. The Statesmen’s second entry clocked in at 5:33.4, while the Brewers completed the race with a time of 5:40.2. The second heat included St. Lawrence University and Union College, who battled throughout with the Saints finishing just ahead of the Dutchmen in a time of 5:35.2, while Union crossed at 5:36.5.
St. Lawrence took a commanding lead off the start in the Men’s Novice 8 race, defeating Union College’s entry by nearly 10 seconds. The Saints finished at 5:41.6 while the Dutchmen came in at 5:51.5. The second heat including Hobart and Skidmore Colleges proved to be another exciting one, as the Statesmen narrowly defeated the Thoroughbreds with a time of 5:43.4, while Skidmore finished just 1.3 seconds behind at 5:44.7.
The last heat the competed was the first of two heats for the Women’s Novice 8, where St. Lawrence defeated Union College by more than 20 seconds with a time of 6:39.0. Union clocked in at 7:00.2.
Each of the teams will be looking forward to competition at the New York State Championships, to be held in Whitney Point, NY next Saturday, May 2nd through Sunday, May 3rd.