Drake's Varsity Eight squad won its race at the Sacred Heart Invitational last weekend, beating Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rivals Fairfield, Sacred Heart and Iona in the squad's final tune up before the MAAC Championships April 17.

The team of Leslie Sabick (Bloomington, Ill.), Kat Moore (Brooklyn Center, Mich.), Susan Goulette (New Brighton, Minn.), Andrea Piekarczyk (Downers Grove, Ill.), Samantha Williams (Oxford, Iowa), Hilary Dietz (Schaumburg, Ill.), Kelli Beimal (North Riverside, Ill.) and Brittany Michael (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) finished in a time of 8:36, beating runner-up Army by more than three seconds.

"It gives us an idea of where we stand in the conference," head coach Charlie DiSilvestro said. "But there's another half of the conference we haven't seen yet, so we can't get overconfident. It's a good first step and it helps us gear up for the championships."

Drake crew will travel to West Windsor, N.J. on April 17 to compete in the MAAC Championships on Lake Mercer.