May 14, 2004

The Duke University rowing team will compete at the eighth annual Lexus Central/South Region Sprints on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on Saturday, May 15, and Sunday, May 16. The event features 23 teams from the Central and South regions, including eight squads ranked in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Varsity Eight Poll. Opening heats are scheduled to get underway at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday with semifinals beginning at 2:00 p.m. Sunday's finals are slated to start at 9:00 a.m. and should conclude by noon.

The Blue Devil Varsity Eight is seeded ninth and needs to finish in the top three of their heat to proceed to the A-B semifinal. The Second Varsity Eight is seeded 10th and the Varsity Four is seeded 12th. Both crews must finish top four to get to the A-B semifinal. Semifinal races are slated to run from 2:00 p.m. through 5:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. All three crews need to finish top three in the semi to make the grand final on Sunday morning.

Host Tennessee enters the competition with the nation's 13th-ranked varsity eight shell but will be challenged by the strongest field in the event's history. Other ranked crews from the South Region include Virginia (No. 7) and Texas (No. 20), while the Central Region's top representatives are Michigan (No. 3), Ohio State (No. 5), Wisconsin (No. 10), Michigan State (No. 11) and Notre Dame (No. 14). The remainder of the field includes Central Florida, Cincinnati, Clemson, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Minnesota, Murray State, North Carolina and SMU.

Duke Lineups

First Varsity Eight -

Jessi Batzell (c), Amanda Adam, Amber Straight, Natalie Zervas, Corbin Dunlap, Emma Darling, Christine Lauro, Alissa Van Arnam, Mae Joyce Gay

Second Varsity Eight -

Sarah Shapiro (c), Tonia Boock, Krista Harryman, Lauren Winslow, Caroline Wray, Julie Stuart, Carrie Wilkerson, Carina Podgorski, Lauren Case

Varsity Four -

Kareen Murray (c), Melissa Buckmiller, Sara Miller, Leah Frank-Finney, Courtney Triffletti