April 24, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--The 2009 Patriot League Championship will take place Sunday, April 26 on the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J. It will mark the fifth Patriot League Rowing Championship. Bucknell has won the last three titles. Navy won the innaugural championship in 2005. Following the championship, awards will be presented for the team title, Coach of the Year and Boat of the Year.

2009 Patriot League Rowing Championship Release

Team Notebooks

Bucknell Preseason favorite Bucknell enters the Patriot League Championship seeking its fourth consecutive title. This season, the Bison have won at the Head of Schuykill and the Murphy Cup. Bucknell also defeated Virginia, North Carolina, MIT and Robert Morris. The Bison last competed in Columbus, Ohio, facing off against top-10 foes Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, winning two. Bucknell also squared off against Wisconsin's top-ranked lightweight crew.

Colgate Colgate was picked to finish third in the Patriot League preseason coaches' poll. The Patriot League Championship will be the fourth spring event for the Raiders. Colgate also participated in three fall competitions. The Raiders most recently competed at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., finishing third out of five teams.

Holy Cross A day before the Patriot League Championship, the Crusaders will host Boston College. Last weekend, Holy Cross hosted Connecticut College, Ithaca, Tufts and Williams. The Crusaders' varsity eight placed second in their race with a time of 7:01.1. The Crusaders have been busy this season, competing in seven spring events and four fall events.

Lehigh Lehigh hosted the annual River Cup last weekend on the Lehigh River in Allentown and the Mountain Hawks were able to retain their hold of the River Cup. Lehigh also won the inaugural Neuweiler Plate which pits Lehigh against archrival Lafayette as well as in-state foes Penn State and Franklin & Marshall. Lehigh was picked fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll.

Navy Navy will look to win its second Patriot League title after second-place team finishes at each of the last-three championships. Last year, Navy won two of the three championship races - second varsity eight and varsity four - and finished second in the first varsity eight race to land in a first-place tie with Bucknell in the team standings. However, the Bison were crowned as the league champion for third-straight year, as the winner of the first varsity eight race was used to break the tie. Navy enters the competition with an 11-4 record.