The Hatters are back to daily practice in DeLand after competing last weekend at the Head of the Hooch regatta in Chattanooga, TN. That two day event is the nation's second-largest and featured some of the country's best college teams. Almost 6,000 athletes competed on Saturday, with another 4,000 taking to the Tennessee River on Sunday.

To start the racing on Saturday the Women's Novice 8+ finished 7^th out of 45 entries. Their time of 18:12.7 was the fastest among the event's Florida schools. “I'm so happy with the way this group of young ladies is performing!” exclaimed Head Coach Mark Wilson. “The entire team is doing a great job of staying positive and focused as the intensity of races and training has increased.”

Stetson was also well represented in the Championship 4+ on Saturday with their entry who completed the 5000 meter course in a time of 19:01.6, topping the efforts of Jacksonville University and both Eastern Michigan crews to finish 20^th overall. Out of that 4+ line-up, seniors Georgina Ashley and Emmie Wenzell returned on Sunday to finish 15^th in the Women's Open pair event.  Stetson's second entry in the pair featured Kaley Concannon (also from the 4+) and Olivia Valiante (stroke of the novice 8+). That freshman duo finished 18^th, 27 seconds behind their team-mates. “We've got great speed and potential across the entire roster. This group of athletes brings big smiles and tons of intensity to every race and practice session.” stated assistant coach Ryan Worth. “I'm really proud of the way they performed last weekend against some of the country's top D1 programs!”

Head of the Hooch Line-ups:

Novice 8+:  Olivia Valiente, Emily Tivy, Catherine Keve, Emma Griffith, Amelia Ornato, Carly Swanson, Abby Hamilton, Riley McGovern and Cox Erica McCaughey

Championship 4+:  Georgina Ashley, Emmie Wenzell, Kaley Concannon, Rebecca Shaffer Cox Nicolette Alayon

Open 2-(A): Georgina Ashley, Emmie Wenzell    Open 2-(B):  Olivia Valiante, Kaley Concannon