The UMass Lowell women's varsity four rowing team turned in a solid performance, Saturday, on the Merrimack River in Lowell.
 
The River Hawk varsity four finished second, just seven seconds behind the Merrimack College boat, coving the two-thousand meter course in a time of seven-minutes and 20.9 seconds.  Merrimack won the race in a time of 7:13.3.  Franklin Pierce University was third, 7:51.1.
 
The varsity four led by junior coxswain Rachel Paquette (Dracut, Mass.) included senior Melinda Neale (Plaistow, N. H.,) sophomore Jenna Bueno (Methuen, Mass.,) senior Kim Haskins (Taunton, Mass.) and sophomore and Rachel Piela (Amherst, Mass.)
 
A week ago, UMass Lowell defeated the Warriors, on the Merrimack in Lawrence, by five second despite covering a similar distance in a slower time. The two squads will meet twice more in the next four weeks.
 
The UMass Lowell novice four also faced Merrimack losing the two boat battle by just under 15 seconds.  The Merrimack boat crossed the finish line in a time of 7:32.4.  The River Hawks came in at 7:47.3.
 
UMass Lowell finished third in a four boat women's varsity eight.  The Coast Guard Academy won the event with a time of six-minutes 26.1 seconds.  Colby finished second, 6:30.4.  The River Hawks were third, 6:46.6. Franklin Pierce finished fourth, 7:35.6.
 
The River Hawks return to the waters of the Merrimack, at the Bellegarde Boathouse in Lowell Saturday, April 20 (9:00am), to face Wentworth, Vermont, Franklin Pierce and Bandeis.