51³Ô¹ÏÍø

The University of North Georgia (51³Ô¹ÏÍø) brought home the gold again Sept. 7 at the Atlanta Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia.

A team mostly made up of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø faculty, staff, students and graduates finished first in the collegiate division in the 200-meter races with an average time of 1:08.59.

It was 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's seventh year in the race, and this was the fourth year in a row a 51³Ô¹ÏÍø team finished as the top collegiate division team.

"I am so proud of this year's team. Despite having a boat of mostly new paddlers, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's dragon boat team came in first," said Dr. Anastasia Lin, team captain, assistant vice president for research and engagement, and associate professor of English. "51³Ô¹ÏÍø's success is due to the hard work of each and every paddler aboard — the gold medal was a team effort. In between rowing, we enjoyed the cultural activities, including the blessing of the boats in the morning and the lion dance. We also fueled up on some amazing food."

The dragon boat team included: Katie Beccue, Gabe Fankhauser, Johnny Kahn, Neal Lin, Alex Ho, Maggie Simmons, David Hagler, Michael Bender, Sheri Hardee, Jeanelle Morgan, Madison Oligny, Yizhe Huang, Victoria Hightower, Sheila Schulte, Adam Davis, Jill Schulze, Claire Allinson, Kristin Keefer, drummer Megan Shockley and captain Anastasia Lin.