The Sacramento State women?s rowing team took sixth place in last weekend?s varsity-eight Dad Vail Regatta held in Philadelphia. Forty-five schools competed at the Regatta, which has been held annually since 1934.

The University of Massachusetts took home the crown, beating its closest competitor, Villanova University, by more than two seconds.

The Hornets advanced to the grand finals after finishing second in their semifinal heat.

The top two teams in each of the three semifinals went on to compete in the grand final.

In the semifinal race, Sac State qualified behind Leigh University, the heat winner. Leigh edged out the Hornets at the line by two seconds.

The rowing lanes at the Schuylkill River gave an unfair advantage to boats in the first and second lanes, said Hornet coach Bill Zack.

An island in the river and the flow of the current posted problems for the teams in the far lanes, he added.

UMASS paced the final round competition with a time of 6 minutes, 39.3 seconds, while Villanova crossed the line at 6:42.7.

Boston College University placed third with a time of 6:43.8, finishing ahead of Lehigh (6:44.9), Army (6:55.7) and Sac State (7:00.2).

“Our goal was to make it to the finals and we did that,? said Zack.

Along with making the grand finals, Sac State was eager to participate in the Dad Vail Regatta?s historic value.

“It is somewhat of a rowing Mecca,” Zack said. “I wanted them to experience the tradition and get Sacramento State some exposure.

“Participating in this kind of event brings credit to the school.”In 1977, as a freshman in college, Zack also rowed in the Dad Vail Regatta. Zack?s former college coach was present to cheer on the Hornets.

As the Hornets evaluate this past weekend and look forward to their next race, they have realized there are a few things they need to work on.

The Hornets? varsity-eight boat has had some recent difficulty maintaining their speed in the middle of their races.

Often times Sac Statee loses the lead near the half way mark and then are forced to play catch up, Zack said.

According to Zack, Sac State hopes to make the last minute improvements necessary to finish the season on top.

The novice-four, varsity-eight, second varsity-eight and the varsity-four will all be competing over the weekend.

The Hornets will compete in two events over the weekend.The Pacific Coast Rowing Championships will take place on Friday and the Pac-10 Championships will take place on Saturday.

Both events will be held at the CSUS Aquatic Center.