Heading into the Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro League Championships on Saturday, Massachusetts rowing coach Jim Dietz knew his squad had to face challenges that they had not faced all season.

Battling Princeton and Bucknell, the two top rowing teams in the nation, was not going to be easy and racing for the seventh-consecutive weekend would eventually have its effects on his team.

Dietz described the performance on Saturday as one filled with mixed results.

‘In this sport it is difficult to peak every weekend,’ said Dietz. ‘People’s legs were just tired.’

‘ Against 12 other Division I programs, the Minutewomen recorded top five finishes in several of their races. The Varsity Eight boat finished fifth in the Grand Final with a time of 6:51:9.

The Second Varsity Eight boat captured fourth place in its race by recording a time of 7:10:12.‘ Princeton, the No. 1 rowing team in the region emerged as victorious in each of those races.

The Minutewomen’s Junior Varsity Eight boat also placed in fourth.

However, the fresh legs of the underclassmen were a bright spot this weekend as the Novice Eight remained highly competitive in its race. The boat finished fourth in its Grand final, 13 seconds behind first-place Bucknell.

‘The freshmen did a really good job this weekend’ Dietz said.

Illness may have impacted some of the Minutewomen’s performances on Saturday. Some of the rowers in the Varsity Eight boat appeared to be under the weather.

‘A bunch of girls had some type of stomach virus,’ Dietz said.

This unprecedented season of sickness affected more than just UMass, as Delaware pulled out of the championships because several cases of the flu were found on its campus.

The Minutewomen will look to peak in the Dad Vail Regatta next weekend in Philadelphia. The regatta will host more than 100 schools from across the country, including Buffalo and A-10 rival Saint Joseph’s.

The event will also host schools from California to Canada. The Minutewomen will have two days of practice this week in Amherst, before leaving to Philadelphia on Thursday. The team will look to work on its speed, but rest is equally as important. Dietz thinks his team will have a rebound performance next weekend.

‘I think the girls will want to come back with a vengeance,’ Dietz said.

Jeffery Engmann can be reached at [email protected].