April 13, 2003

CHERRY HILLS, N.J. - The North Carolina women's rowing team registered three top-10 finishes in fields of 30 or more crews at the Knecht Cup, held Saturday and Sunday on the Cooper River. Carolina's novice four was seventh of 41 teams, the novice eight was seventh of 38 and the varsity eight was ninth of 30.

"It was a really good weekend for UNC," Carolina coach Sarah Haney said. "For the varsity eight, it was the racing we've been looking for all season. They finally put the pieces together and had some really good races.

"It was the same thing for the novices. They raced to their full potential. Carolina rowing had an extremely strong presence this weekend."

The UNC novice four won its heat on Saturday with a time of 8:29.61 to advance to the semifinals, in which the Tar Heels took third in 8:29.16. The third-place finish put Carolina in Sunday's petite final, for seventh through 12th places. The Tar Heels turned in the second-fastest time in the field to win the race and take seventh overall.

Racing in the novice four were Amanda Snow, Allison Standard, Stephanie Hoffmann, Dana Merritt and coxswain Katie Sorensen.

Carolina's novice eight also won its heat on Saturday to advance to the semifinal, in which the Tar Heels took fourth with a time of 7:28.03. In Sunday's petite final, UNC was first with a time of 7:31.8 to claim another seventh-place finish.

Racing in the novice eight were Sarah Stargel, Kristin McPhillips, Emily Dondero, Susan Fisk, Laura Haythorn, Claire Bramble, Jenny Cox, Clara Leigh and coxswain Lauren Portnow.

The varsity eight took third in its heat and third in its semifinal on Saturday to earn a spot in Sunday's petite final. In that race, the Tar Heels again took third, finishing in 7:07.4. Buffalo won the race in 7:04.1 and Rhode Island was second in 7:06.4. Carolina placed ninth overall in the field.

Racing in the varsity eight were Kara Kerscher, Julie Domina, Rebecca Bennett, Grace Wallenborn, Mollie Silver, Lauren Tarabokia, Michelle Hall, Lauren Yoder and coxswain Terry McCloskey.

The second varsity eight finished sixth in its Saturday heat with a time of 7:33.11 and failed to advance to the semifinals. Racing in the boat were Holly Spain, Mary Miller, Rawan Kablawi, Jess Ziebell, Bessie Jackson, Leah Shissias, Sarah Hayter, Christina Payne and coxswain Kim Lyko.

The Carolina men's club team also competed at the Knecht Cup. UNC took first and second in the men's pairs, first in the varsity men's four, second in the men's novice eight and second in the men's novice lightweight eight.

Next up for the Tar Heels is the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. Racing will include teams from the four ACC schools that sponsor women's rowing as a varsity sport: Clemson, Duke, Virginia and North Carolina. Each team will field a varsity eight, a second varsity eight, a novice eight and a varsity four. "This weekend's good races and good performances should be a confidence boost heading into ACC's," Haney said.