WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Marietta College finished competition in the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Rowing Championship with a fifth place finish in the first varsity 8+ Grand Final Saturday (May 26) morning. [Results]

“It was an amazing finish to a great season,” Marietta Head Coach Kelly Harris said. “We finished among the pack and just 13 seconds off first place Williams.”

Williams won the National Championship for the seventh straight year. Their first varsity 8+ shell finished in 6:31.98. Bates (6:35.14) was second followed by William Smith (6:35.94), Wellesley (6:41.02) and Marietta (6:44.40).

“We came in seeded seventh and finished fifth,” Harris said. “It was a great job by our entire team.”

The Pioneers' lineup in the first varsity 8+ shell included 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.

Marietta's second varsity 8+ crew raced in the two-boat Petite Final Saturday and gave William Smith all they could handle. The Pioneers were edged in the final 500 meters and crossed the line in 7:03.03, a ittle more than two seconds behind William Smith's 7:00.96.

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

The Pioneers end the season after successfully defending both their Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference and Dad Vail Regatta titles. Marietta also earned the Mid-Atlantic Region's first team bid to the NCAA Championship.