PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – For the first time in program history the Marietta College women's rowing team won back-to-back gold medals at that annual Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. The Pioneers' varsity heavyweight 8+ crew led from start to finish Saturday (May 12) afternoon on the 2,000-meter Schuylkill River course. [Results]

“This was a great day for Marietta College and I am especially happy for the two seniors in the boat,” Marietta Head Coach Kelly Harris said. “Kelli (Barnette) and Bridget (Dean) have done a phenomenal job all season leading this crew.

Marietta finished in a tie for third place in overall points. Bucknell finished with 22 total points. Duke had 18 points, while Marietta and three other schools finished with 16.

The gold medal crew consisted of coxswain #Megan Oxley (Clarksburg, N.J./Allentown)#, stroke #Abigail Klicker (Avalon Borough, Pa./Northgate)#, #Hailey Ellis (New Albany/New Albany)#, #Kelli Barnette (Parkersburg, W.Va./South)#, #April Pendergrass (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson)#, #Ricci Davis (Marietta/Marietta)#, #Trisha Wendel (Chagrin Falls/Kenston)#, #Bridget Dean (Rochester, Minn./Mayo)#, and #Alyse McNeill (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area)# in the bow seat.

The Pioneers were extremely fast off the starting line and quickly built a big lead on the rest of the field. Not wanting to be overshadowed by the first varsity boat, Marietta's second varsity 8+ shell was in second place over the first 500 meters of the race.

By the 1,000-meter mark Emory had taken over second place and was gaining on the Pioneers' first varsity boat. “Our coxswain was very aware of Emory,” Harris said. “We really pushed hard and rowed a really good race.”

“Since we hadn't raced against the, we didn't know what Emory had,” Barnette said. “We thought they had held some back in their heat on Friday. We were confident, but not overconfident.”

Marietta held Emory off and continued to take seats into the finish. The Pioneers crossed the line in 7:05.447 ahead of Emory (7:13.461) and Rochester (7:16.785).

"It feels really great to be in the winning boat," Dean said after missing last year's win due to a back injury. "My teammates are awesome. We are a family and we did what we came to do."

Rochester caught the Pioneers' 2V boat around the midpoint of the race and the two shells battled over the final 1,000 meters. Rochester edged Marietta at the line by 2.3 seconds.

“I am very proud of the 2V boat,” Harris said. “They rowed a great race and really left everything on the water. They were racing up a level against first varsity boats and gave it everything they had and just missed a medal.”

The 2V lineup included coxswain #Laura Sterzinger (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic)#, #Taryn Wilson (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa)# in the stroke seat, #Alycia Kime (Sicklerville, N.J./Winslow Township)#, #Kelly Moses (Lyndhurst/Brush)#, #Stephanie Meinert (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel Area)#, #Erika Gill (Copley/Copley)#, #Shannon Johnston (Arlington, Va./Yorktown)#, #Katherine Tedesco (Upper Arlington/Upper Arlington)# and #Hannah Platt (Potomac, Md./Walt Whitman)# in bow.

Barnette is one of five members of last year's winning shell to capture gold in successive years. “It's one of the best feelings I have ever had,” Barnette said of the back-to-back gold medals. “It has been great to see how much our program has grown in four years. I'm confident there will be many more gold medals in the future.”

The Pioneers now turn their attention to the NCAA Division III Rowing Championship. As the No. 1 ranked boat in the region, Marietta's varsity 8+ earned an automatic bid into the championship. However, to have a shot at the National Championship, the Pioneers need to have both varsity eight shells in the competition.

Marietta will find out on Monday if the second varsity 8+ crew has been selected for the championship. “We set the goal early in the season to get both boats into the NCAA Championship,” Barnette said. “We have really worked hard all year to reach that goal.”