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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Scotty Sports Corner, April 9, 2001

By Hollis Duncan
St. Margaret's School Staff Writer

Crew Makes a Splash at Beach Regatta

Tappahannock, VA (April 9, 2001) - In just its third season of competition, St. Margaret's crew team is poised to make things happen. Scotty rowers turned in a solid performance in their first outing of the 2001 season at the Broad Bay Regatta in Virginia Beach on March 31.

St. Margaret's School coxswain Lulu Fiscella and rowers Kristen Keating, Phoebe Gilbert, Tess Cooney and Cariad Shepherd were among the SMS crew team members who participated in the Broad Bay Regatta. They are shown here practicing on Piscataway Creek.

Led by coxswain Katie Beal, the SMS varsity four was in a tightly contested race for first place when a freak break in the bowman's foot stretcher threw the boat out of sync in the final 500 meters. Rowers Claire Stephenson of Tappahannock, Britton Faulkner of White Stone, Lea DeBauche of Kilmarnock and boarding student Emily Lapayowker finished second.

The show was stolen, however, by a co-ed varsity eight pairing of four novice SMS rowers -- Tess Cooney, Helena Luikhart, Kristen Keating and Ellison Goodwin -- with four varsity men from Cox High School in Virginia Beach. Rowing together for the first time, the co-ed eight won its race.

"Rowing is like summer camp," said Cooney, a junior from Ohio. "Although it's really tiring, the races are so much fun."

SMS's novice A, B and C teams each finished third in their respective races and "looked great out on the water," according to Head Coach Kary Fronk.

"With so much new talent this year, Coach Fronk and I really didn't know what to expect," said Assistant Coach Andrea Robinson. "After Saturday, we know we can think big. The girls' performance was awesome. This is a great start for us."

St. Margaret's rows on April 7 in Mathews. The following regatta is Saturday, April 21 at the Occoquan Reservoir in northern Virginia. Visit the Web for directions and a team schedule.

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