April 7, 2003

The Duke University Varsity 8+ was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Crew of the Week after taking second place in the Jessop-Whittier Cup Petite Final at the San Diego Crew Classic this past weekend.

The Blue Devil Varsity 8+ posted a finishing time of 6:46.89, which was just 22 tenths of a second behind Tennessee in the finals. The ACC Crew of the Week is comprised of Amelia Booth, Katie Lakin, Joanna Hingle, Natalie Zervas, Mae Joyce Gay, Abby Hawkins, Kim Bailey, Missy Buckmiller and coxswain Jessi Batzell.

The Duke crew opened the 2000m race with a split time of 1:43.09. Sitting in fourth place through the first leg, the Blue Devils posted a time of 1:40.02 in the next 500m to move into third place behind Tennessee and Minnesota.

A split time of 1:43.04 during the third leg propelled Duke into the lead just over two-tenths of a second ahead of Tennessee. With 500m remaining Duke and Tennessee held the top two spots with Wisconsin and San Diego State still challenging at third and fourth, respectively.

Over the final 500m, Tennessee edged the Blue Devils slightly with a split time of 1:40.29, while Duke closed with a time of 1:40.74. The Volunteers collected the win with a combined time of 6:46.67, while Duke was just behind at 6:46.89.

The Duke rowing team returns to action on Saturday, April 12 when they travel to Columbus, Ohio to compete against Ohio State and Michigan.