The Temple Men’s Varsity Eight advanced to the semifinals of the Dad Vail Regatta by winning its opening heat Friday morning on the Schuylkill River. The Owls cruised to victory with an eight-second cushion over the second place finisher, Lehigh.On Saturday morning, Coach Gavin White’s squad will vie for one of six spots in the championship race, which will be held at the end of the day. The Owls are seeking to regain the Dad Vail Trophy after coming up short the last two years.
Among the others that advanced to the semifinals by winning their opening heats were defending champ Marietta College, Purdue, Florida Tech, Army, and Grand Valley State. The other semifinal participants are Lehigh, Saint Joseph’s, Rochester, Delaware, Jacksonville, San Diego, Ohio State, Mercyhurst, Loyola, George Mason, St. Thomas, and La Salle.
Temple won 13 straight Dad Vail titles from 1989-2001, before losing the crown to Dowling College in 2002. The Owls bounced back to win the Dad Vail Trophy in 2003 and 2004. Michigan was victorious in 2005 and Marietta won it last year.
Following are the finishing times for Temple’s opening race on the 2,000-meter course on Friday morning:
1) Temple 6:05.94
2) Lehigh 6:14.26
3) Mercyhurst 6:19.87
4) Michigan St. 6:25.06
5) Florida 6:32.26
6) UConn 6:38.49