May 15, 2004

The Duke University rowing team had three crews in competition on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on Saturday, May 15, at the Lexus Central/South Region Sprints. The Blue Devil Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four crews each had strong opening races to reach the A/B semifinals but could not overcome a very strong field from the Central and South regions to qualify for Sunday's Grand Finals.

The Varsity Four (Kareen Murray (c), Melissa Buckmiller, Sara Miller, Leah Frank-Finney, Courtney Triffletti) took fourth place with a time of 8:12.1 to finish behind Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota in its opening heat. The top four crews from each of three heats advanced to the A/B semifinals, while the remaining six crews competed in a C Final Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devils had to scratch in the A/B semifinal race.

In the opening heat of the Second Varsity Eight, Duke claimed fourth place crossing the finish line with a time of 7:03.4, just three-tenths of a second behind third place Texas. Michigan State won the heat with Wisconsin coming in second. The fourth place finish was good enough to move the Blue Devils (Sarah Shapiro (c), Tonia Boock, Krista Harryman, Lauren Winslow, Caroline Wray, Julie Stuart, Carrie Wilkerson, Carina Podgorski, Lauren Case), into the A/B semifinals.

In the afternoon semifinal, Duke placed fifth at 7:11.5, while Tennessee was third with a time of 7:11.1. The Blue Devils will be in the B Final at 11:10 a.m. on Sunday, May 16.

In the First Varsity Eight, the Blue Devils advanced to the A/B semifinals with a third place in the opening heat with a time of 6:58.1. Michigan won the heat in 6:50.6 with Texas coming in second with a time of 6:53.7. Duke's crew of Jessi Batzell (c), Amanda Adam, Amber Straight, Natalie Zervas, Corbin Dunlap, Emma Darling, Christine Lauro, Alissa Van Arnam, and Mae Joyce Gay finished sixth in the afternoon semifinal with a time of 7:00.8. The Blue Devils will compete in the B Final on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.