LOWELL, Mass. (October 3, 2021) – After two and half years, the Franklin Pierce University rowing program was back in action at the Textile River Regatta on the Merrimack River in Lowell, Mass., as the Novice 4+ boat finished in first place on Sunday morning.

The Novice 4+ boat, consisting of junior Olivia Morrissey (Clinton, Conn.), junior Tessa Berry (Andover, Mass.), sophomore Hannah LaGrassa (Winchendon, Mass.), sophomore Maura Joseph (Holyoke, Mass.) and the Coxswain, junior Meg Stokes (Milford, Conn.) raced to first out of three boats with a time of 20:32.523. The University of Maine followed in second with a time of 23:09.002, while Brandeis University took third with a time of 23:21.918.

Franklin Pierce also fielded the Varsity 4 boat. The lineup for the Varsity 4 was junior Megan Shawver (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), sophomore Jada Fuentes (Lyme, Conn.), senior Taylor Abbott (Gloucester, Mass.), senior Nicole Berkio (Ashburnham, Mass.) and Coxswain, junior Ali Darling (Unionville, Conn.) Franklin Pierce took home seventh after finishing with a time of 19:52.028.