May 15, 2005

The Duke rowing team finished 15th at the Aramark Sprints in Oak Ridge, Tenn., over the weekend. Virginia captured the ninth annual South/Central Region championship with 372 points at the event held on Melton Hill Lake. The Blue Devils claimed 133 points with the Varsity 8+ turning in the top finish by winning the C Level Final.

The Varsity 8+ had a tough draw in the preliminary round on Saturday facing ranked crews from Michigan (7) and Wisconsin (14) as well as Notre Dame and North Carolina. The Blue Devil crew of Sarah Shapiro (c), Tonia Boock, Gwen Coleman, Emma Darling, Lia Hart, Julie Stuart, Christine Lauro, Alissa Van Arnam and Emily Herrington had a strong race finishing fourth in their heat with a time of 6:40.89. Michigan won the heat with Wisconsin placing second and Notre Dame edging out Duke by just over three seconds for third place. In the C/D semifinals, the Blue Devil V8+ finished second with a time over 6:51.09 to advance to the C Level Finals. In the finals, Duke (6:48.30) out raced its five opponents to collect 81 points. Clemson (6:51.80) and Texas (6:53.59) finishing second and third respectively.

Duke's 2V8+ (Katie Tobin (c), Iraina Miles, Lauren Case, Leah Frank-Finney, Natalie Zervas, Kim Gordon, Caroline Wray, Julia Gelfand, Kate Kearney) opened racing on Saturday with a third place finish to advance to the A/B semifinal. The Blue Devil crew, ranked fifth in the South Region, finished the course in 6:56.0, behind Michigan State (2nd/Central) and Texas (4th/South). In the semifinals, Duke claimed a fifth place finish with a time of 7:14.4 to reach the Petite Finals. The Blue Devils earned 48 points in Sunday's final, finishing sixth in a time of 7:06.95.

In the Novice 8+ race, the Blue Devil crew of Samantha Prouty (c), Megan O'Connell, Liz Martin, Fran Polvere, Caroline Morrow, Bonnie Gregory, Emma Wallace, Jessica Zinck and Courtney Stull finished fifth in their opening heat (7:50.20) and in their repechage race (7:38.79) to fall into the Petite Final. Duke's N8+ closed its season with a fifth place (7:25.48) finish on Sunday, collecting four points for the team standings.

The Blue Devils' Open 4+ crew (Marion Penning (c), Katie Hutcheson, Meghan O'Toole, Fiona O'Sullivan, Leisha Elmore) posted a fifth place finish in its opening heat. In the repechage the unit finished sixth overall to drop into the Petite Final. On Sunday, the Open 4+ unit placed seventh with a time of 8:43.38.

Complete race results can be found online at http://www.orra.org/results/south/2005/results.htm. Selections for the 2005 NCAA Division I Rowing Championships will be announced on Tuesday, May 17 at 4:00 p.m. For information on the 2005 Rowing Championships and selection information check out the NCAA web site at www.ncaasports.com.

Team Standings
Virginia          372
Ohio State        366
Wisconsin         324
Michigan          317
Tennessee         304
Michigan State    294
Notre Dame        262
Minnesota         231
Indiana           187
Clemson           180
Texas             172
Louisville        171
Iowa              144
Central Florida   140
Duke              133
Cincinnati         77
Miami              77
Kansas             67
North Carolina     51
Kansas State       47
SMU                27

South Region Standings
Virginia          372
Tennessee         304
Clemson           180
Texas             172
Louisville        171
Central Florida   140
Duke              133
Miami              77
North Carolina     51
SMU                27

Back to ACC Home

Email this article

Printer-friendly format