MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Rollins varsity four boat highlighted the Tars at the 2009 Sunshine State Conference Championships when they finished second with a time of 9:40.5, Saturday morning.

In the  final, Rollins crossed 11 seconds behind the Nova Southeastern boat and 23 seconds ahead of Tampa.

The varsity four won its Friday heat after finishing nearly 30 seconds ahead of Tampa’s four.  Tampa registered a time of 10:02.4, but still managed to find a spot in Saturday’s final.  In the first heat, the boat from Nova Southeastern recorded a time of 9:35.7 to win the heat and a second place overall finish.  Barry’s 10:32.7 placed them fourth and eliminated the boat for Saturday’s final.

The varsity eight for Rollins came in fourth, second in its heat with a time of 8:25.9.  The varsity eight’s fourth place finish did not qualify them for Saturday’s final.  Nova Southeastern won the final with a time of 8:03.5 followed by Barry and Florida Tech.

Rollins finished in third in the team standings with nine points as Nova claimed the championship with 20 points and Barry took third with 13.

The women’s rowing team will now prepare for the Dad Vail Championships at Philadelphia, beginning Friday, May 8-9.