Two UMass Lowell women's varsity four boats rowed to first place finishes in the Greater Boston Invitational, Sunday afternoon, on the Merrimack River in Lowell.
 
“It's like watching flowers bloom,” says UMass Lowell Rowing Coach Veronika Platzer.  “They are coming along beautifully.  There is no fluff, everyone is contributing, everyone is working together.”
 
Six colleges competed in the event that was added to the schedule after several schools were unable to compete in the aftermath of the attack on the Boston Marathon.
 
The first UMass Lowell women's varsity four boat defeated four challengers covering the two-thousand meter course in a time of seven-minutes and 44 seconds.  Endicott College grabbed second place finishing 13 seconds behind the River Hawk boat. Brandeis finished third in a time of 7:58.  Wentworth Institute and Mass Maritime rounded out the field.
 
The varsity four led by junior coxswain Rachel Paquette (Dracut, Mass.) included sophomore Jenna Bueno (Methuen, Mass.,) senior Melinda Neale (Plaistow, N. H.,) sophomore Rachel Piela (Amherst, Mass.) and senior Kim Haskins (Taunton, Mass.)  
 
“It was a solid performance,” says Platzer.  “It's never easy racing on back to back days and it's the third weekend we've done that.  Championship racing is back-to-back, it's important to simulate those conditions.”
 
The second varsity four boat also turned in a strong performance pulling away from the competition in the final 250 meters to grab an eight second victory.  UMass Lowell crossed the finish line in a time of eight-minutes and three-seconds.
 
The second varsity four led by sophomore coxswain Ghazel Kayal (Worcester, Mass.) included junior Megan McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.,) Haskins (doing double duty), senior Brianna Trainor (Pelham, N. H.,) and junior Bridget Mahoney (Dracut, Mass.,)
 
“I was really proud,” says Platzer.  “More important than the time was that they really raced.”
 
Brandies finished second in a time of 8:11, Endicott was third, 8:40.
 
The UMass Lowell novice four boat finished second in a five boat battle.  Endicott's “A” boat took the top spot in a time of 7:57, just twelve seconds better than the River Hawks, 8:09.  Brandies was third, Wentworth fourth.  Endicott “B” finished fifth.
 
The novice four boat led by sophomore coxswain Mahoney included sophomore Brianna Trainor (Pelham, N. H.), Senior Julia Jennings (Lowell, Mass.), sophomore Aylssa Wolneic (Newton, Mass.), and Kayal.
 
The River Hawks prepare now for the New England Championship, Saturday (9:00am), on Lake Quinsigamond in Shrewsbury, Mass.