BOSTON, MA (February 20, 2011) -- The Vassar College men's and women's rowing teams sent three of its top athletes to represent the college at the 30th annual Crash B's Indoor Sprints at Boston University's Agganis Arena on Sunday. As the World Indoor Rowing Championships, Crash B's features the strongest indoor competition from around the world, including many national team athletes in each event.

Vassar's men's program was represented on Sunday morning by freshman Daniel Kessler in the Men's Coxswain Weight Event. Kessler rowed to a strong 7th place finish with a time of 7:38.0 in his first appearance at the Sprints. The 20 athlete field was led by Cameron Best of Yale University, with a 2000-meter time of 7:08.1.

The Vassar women's team was represented by Crash B's first-timers junior captain Hannah Siebens and freshman Mary Claire Walker, who competed in the Open Women's Event Sunday afternoon. Siebens placed 22nd overall with a time of 7:13.8. Walker used her 3 months of experience to earn 87th place in the field of 216 competitors with a finishing time of 7:35.6. Estonia's Kaisa Pajusalu won the event with a final time of 6:41.3. Against all 182 collegiate athletes in the event, Siebens placed 13th and Walker was 74th.

“Despite their limited experience, they all handled the stress of the competition amazingly well,” said head coach Stephanie Ricker. “Daniel, Mary, and Hannah did their best to stay in control and focused when it was necessary. We are extremely proud; they were great representatives of Vassar Rowing this weekend. These strong finishes are an indication of the dedication and energy that the Vassar Rowers have been putting into making this season a success. This as a great warm up for a fast Spring Season on the water.”