WASHINGTON - On a day that was nearly perfect for rowing, warm and sunny with a breeze, the Georgetown women's rowing program competed against some of the top collegiate competition in the country on Sunday at the Princeton Chase.

In the openweight 8+ race, Georgetown's varsity crew showed significant improvement, from even a week ago, finishing with a time of 15:36.409. After placing 25th at the same event last fall, the Hoyas improved to 16th this year, out of 50 entries. The Blue & Gray also improved its margins on other programs from last weekend's racing at the Head of the Charles. GU's crew was rowed by coxswain Margaret Rush ( Fort Washington, Pa./Mount St. Joseph) , stroke Sarah Arcos ( Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Polytech) , Meaghan Keefe ( Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) , Margaret Dunne ( Larchmont, N.Y./Convent of the Sacred Heart) , Christina Johnson ( Redding, Conn./Joel Barlow) , Keara Schmeiser ( Leonardtown, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) , Emma Thompson ( Claremont, Calif./St. Lucy's Priory) , Savannah Kochinke ( San Francisco, Calif./The Lawrenceville School (N.J.)) and Jen Bisgaier ( Afton, Va./Western Albemarle) .

Georgetown's second varsity eight competed in the same race, crossing the finish line in 16:59.089, good for 41st place. Rowing for the Hoyas was coxswain Sabrina Gosman ( Newton, Mass./Winsor School) , stroke Meaghan Bresnahan ( Harleysville, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph) , Julia Butz ( Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills) , Sarah Varney ( Hingham, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) , Samantha Smolka ( Westport, Conn./Staples) , Emily Buongiorno ( Newton Square, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) , Victoria Carroll ( Cranbury, N.J./Princeton HS) , Maggie Downing ( Buffalo, N.Y./Nardin Academy) and Ruthie Speidel ( Manlius, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) .

"Our varsity squads established a simple but challenging goal and the athletes achieved it, resulting in a strong performance for us at this race," Georgetown Head Coach Miranda Paris said. "They did a great job. We continue to focus on us, building our team, our culture, improving our abilities."

In the novice 8+ race, the top boat for the Hoyas placed fifth, in a 15-crew field, with a time of 16:34.504 while the second novice boat crossed the finish line in 18:37.352, to place 12th. The lineup for the "A" crew consisted of c oxswain Beth Weinrich, stroke Jelena Pesa, Sophie Kershaw, Alexandra Porrazzo, Natalie Clark, Allie Garceau, Abby Reinhold, Sabine Neschke and Grace Benson. The second novice eight was rowed by coxswain Michaela McCool, stroke Elsa Smith, Caroline Thomas, Emily Marshall, Joanne Moley, Kayla Giger, Hanna Galvin, Morgan Zeiss and Lily Tyndall.

"It was a great performance for the freshmen as well," said Paris. "The top novice eight finished fifth of 15 crews and felt that they had a great first race. The second novice eight finished 12th and was the second-fastest second novice eight in the event by just two seconds."

The Blue & Gray will return to action this Saturday, November 1, at the Head of the Occoquan in Lorton, Va.