May 16, 2003

The Duke University rowing team travels to Oak Ridge, Tenn., to compete in the seventh-annual Lexus Sprints, at which top teams from around the Central and South regions battle for the coveted Lexus Cup. The event takes place from May 17-18 on Melton Hill Lake and features a record-sized field of 21 squads.

This year's Lexus Sprints will see seven teams ranked in the USRowing/CRCA Varsity Eight Coaches Top 20 Poll descend on Oak Ridge. Highly rated Central Region crews include No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 15 Iowa. The South Region, meanwhile, has three top-20 crews entering the competition, including No. 12 Virginia, No. 17 Texas and No. 19 Tennessee.

The Blue Devils will face a total of eight South Region foes at the competition, including Clemson, Tennessee, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, SMU, Texas and Virginia. While the 21 teams competing at the Sprints will each be vying for the coveted Lexus Cup, the squads will also be hoping to improve their chances at making the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships. The field is one of the most difficult to make in the NCAA's list of sponsored sports, as only 12 full teams are selected to compete in the championships, which includes one automatic bid from each of the five regions. Each of those 12 teams fields a 1st varsity 8+ boat, a 2nd varsity 8+ boat and a varsity 4+ boat at NCAAs. In addition, four varsity 8+ shells will be selected from institutions not represented in the team competition.

The NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Committee selects participants, which will include one team from each of the five regions as well as seven at-large bids. The 2003 NCAA Championships will be held from May 30-June 1 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Ind.

Duke Crews

Varsity Eight -

Jessi Batzell (c) - Amelia Booth, Katie Lakin, Joanna Hingle, Natalie Zervas, Mae Joyce Gay, Abby Hawkins, Kim Bailey, Melissa Buckmiller

Novice Eight -

Kareen Murray (c) - Amanda Adam, Kara Cerwensky, Lauren Case, Kim Meyer, Christina Richardson, Christine Lauro, Alexandra Owen, Julie Stuart

Varsity Four -

Marion Penning (c) - Devon MacWilliam, Elise Richards, Julia Gelfand, Crystal Wakulich