The UMass Lowell varsity four rowing team turned in its finest performance of the season finishing first among college boats in the New Hampshire Championships, Sunday afternoon, on the Merrimack River.
 
The varsity four traveled the five-thousand meter course in a time of 19-minutes and 17.96-seconds.  The time was good enough for second overall and first among college teams.  The Merrimac Rowing Club won the event with a time of 19:04.40.  Merrimack College finished third with a time of 19:38.53.
 
The varsity four led by junior coxswain Rachel Paquette (Dracut, Mass.) included seniors Melinda Neale (Plaistow, N. H.) and Kim Haskins (Taunton, Mass.) and sophomores Jenna Bueno (Methuen, Mass.) and Rachel Piela (Amherst, Mass.)
 
Coach Veronika Platzer was ecstatic with the performance.  “It was phenomenal, a really terrific performance,” said Platzer. “They are coming on; it was solid, a very competitive time.  They looked very aggressive.  I couldn't be more pleased.”
 
The varsity four showed marked improvement finishing ahead of two Merrimack College boats it had lost to two weeks earlier.  “It's about time and experience in the boat,” said Platzer.  “They looked very strong from coxswain to stroke.”
 
The UMass Lowell women's pairs, sophomore Erinn McLaughlin (Lowell, Mass.) and junior Megan McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.,) the only women competing in the Men's and Women's Open Pair finals, finished fourth in the field of four covering the course in a time of 21:13.78.
 
“They looked really strong especially at the end,” said Platzer.  “They got into a good rhythm, a good flow.  They just clicked.  That's what the hours of practice are all about.”
 
UMass Lowell, now, prepares for the Head of the Charles, Saturday, Oct. 20, in Boston, Mass.  “We just need to do some fine tuning,” said Platzer.  “We'll be ready.”