| 5/5/2007 4:58:07 PM

WHITNEY POINT, NY - The RIT's Women's Crew Varsity 8 (/) squad finished fourth, while the men's Varsity 8 (/) placed in sixth at the 2007 New York State Collegiate Rowing Championships at Dorchester Park on Whitney Point Lake.

The Women's Varsity 8 (/) of senior coxswain Erin Fredericks, senior stroke Ellen Cretekos, senior 7-seat Sarah Whitmore, junior 6-seat Andrea Smith, sophomore 5-seat Jenn Kolling, junior 4-seat Kelly Scheuer, junior 3-seat Sarah Exley, freshman 2-seat Lauren Waltz and sophomore bow Colleen Gillette.

After finishing 1.1 seconds behind cross-town rival the University of Rochester yesterday to advance to Sunday's Grand Final, the Tigers defeated the University of Rochester by more than 5 seconds in the Grand Final. The boat also closed the gap between themselves and perennial powerhouses William Smith and Ithaca, showing their increase in speed since the beginning of the season.

The Men's Varsity 8 (/) finished sixth. Marist won the Grand Final on Whitney Point Lake in a strong tailwind with at time of 5:56.9. RIT finished with a time of 6:14.2. The Men's Varsity 8 (/) line-up was comprised of junior coxswain Madison Shelestak, junior stroke Duke Bonaventura (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), senior 7-seat Scott DeFisher (Sodus, NY/Sodus), senior 6-seat Chris Frey (Reistertown, MD/Franklin), senior 5-seat Jeremy Schiele (Racine, WI/The Prairie School), freshman 4-seat Justin Dixon, junior 3-seat Andre Jarreau (Brentwood, TN/Brentwood), freshman 2-seat Trevor Reid (Somers, CT/Pomfret School) and junior bow Arthur Johnston.

Racing in the Men's Junior Varsity 8 (/) Final, RIT's JV8 placed fourth of seven crews.

The Tigers continue their season Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, PA, continuing their hunt for a championship medal.