May 17, 2009

Virginia Wins Team Title And Three Races At South/Central Regionals
Led by victories in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Novice Eight, the 11th-ranked Virginia rowing team won the overall South/Central Regional Championship and the South Region Championship Sunday at Melton Lake.

Virginia has now won the South Region six times in the last seven years (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009) and the South/Central team championship five times in the last six seasons (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009).

UVa finished with 387 points to take the overall team title, followed by Central Regional Champion Michigan with 348 points. Rounding out the top five was Ohio State (328), Wisconsin (321) and Michigan State (320). 

Duke Wins Open Four C Final At Aramark South/Central Regionals
Duke had two strong showings from its two entries in the open four at the Aramark South/Central Regionals with the B squad winning the C Final and the A crew taking second in the Petite Final.

The Blue Devil B team of Janet Bartholdson, Katrina Weschler, Sara Couch, Alex MacLeish and coxswain Anne Moriarity rallied to win the second C/D Semifinal on Saturday with a time of 7:16.4 and then bested that mark on Sunday to win the C Final with a time of 7:09.53. That finish was good enough to beat five other boats, including Kansas (7:14.63), Indiana (7:17.43), Notre Dame (7:18.13), Iowa (7:20.73) and Central Florida (7:30.23).

Duke's A entry in the open four also finished strong on Sunday and took second in the Petite Final with a time of 7:05.4, which was less than two seconds behind first place finisher Notre Dame (7:03.6). That crew of Laurel Sisler, Alex Japhet, Alison Sagar, All-ACC selection Lesley King and coxswain Tammy Lin finished ahead of Virginia (7:06.7), Michigan State (7:11.4), Iowa (7:17.5) and Clemson (7:23.3). That same crew improved on their 7:16.80 mark that they set in the A/B Semifinal on Saturday.

UM Rowers Conclude Year at Aramark Sprints
The University of Miami rowing team concluded its season on Sunday afternoon, taking part in three final races at the Aramark Sprints in the South/Central Regional Championships on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Hurricanes finished with 64 total points to finish seventh in the South Region.

Miami had three crews racing in the finals of their respective divisions on Sunday, including the Open 4+ and Varsity 4+ for the `Canes.

Miami began the day with the crew of Nicole Miller (bow), Molly Beigelman (2), Stephanie Kane (3), Natalie Snyder (stroke) and Alexa Romero (coxswain) for the finals of the Open 4+ competition. The crew turned in a third place time of 8:46.1.

Tigers Finish Sixth at Aramark South/Central Sprints
The Clemson rowing team finished sixth at the Aramark South/Central Sprints held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, TN this weekend. The Tigers placed second in the South region for the second consecutive season with 311 total points. Virginia claimed the overall championship just a month after falling to the Tigers in the ACC Championship regatta.

Clemson's Varsity 8+ crew finished fifth in the grand finals with a speedy time of 6:09.5. Virginia claimed the Varsity 8+ title with a time of 6:03.2. The Tigers defeated the Cavaliers in the ACC Championship, but were unable to hold off their conference foe for the regional championship. Virginia was followed by Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin, and Ohio State finished in sixth place to round out the grand finals.

The Second Varsity 8+ crew finished sixth in the grand finals with a time of 6:29.0. Virginia won the race, followed by Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin. 

May 16, 2009

Duke Open Four Wins Prelim Heat At South/Central Regionals
The Duke rowing team's open four entry won the second heat of the preliminary round of the 2009 Aramark South/Central Regional Sprints Saturday afternoon.

The boat, composed of Laurel Sisler, Alex Japhet, Alison Sager, All-ACC selection Lesley King and coxswain Tammy Lin, finished the course in 7:10.3 to best Virginia, Iowa, Notre Dame and Duke's B entry. They will advance to the semifinals where they will line up against Clemson, Notre Dame, Michigan, Iowa and Virginia's B boat.

Duke's open four B entry of Janet Bartholdson, Katrina Weschler, Sara Couch, Alex MacLeish and Anne Moriarity took fourth in their preliminary heat with a time of 7:15.82. They will now line up against Central Florida, Kansas and Tennessee in the semifinals. 

UVa Wraps Up Day One At South/Central Regionals
The 11th-ranked Virginia rowing team will have one boat in the grand final of each event after completing day one at the 2009 South/Central Regional Championships at Melton Lake. Highlighted by semifinal victories by the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, Varsity Four and First Novice Eight, Virginia will look to defend its overall team title when action continues on Sunday.

After winning its heat in the morning session by nearly 12 seconds, UVa's Varsity Eight of coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips and Victoria Burke followed up that performance with another victory in its A/B semifinal.

Virginia's time of 6:04.8 bested second-place Ohio State's time of 6:08.9 and third-place Michigan State's time of 6:09.5. 

Miami Shows Solid Start at Aramark South/Central Sprints
The University of Miami rowing team advanced a boat into the Open 4+ "D" finals, while the Second Varsity Eight advanced in the "C" finals in day one action Saturday at the Aramark Sprints South/Central Regional Championships at Lake Melton in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The Hurricanes' Open 4+ boat of Nicole Miller (bow), Molly Beigelman (2), Stephanie Kane (3), Natalie Snyder (stroke) and Alexa Romero (coxswain) turned in a time of 8:43.56 in the prelims in order to advance to the semifinals of the event tomorrow at 9 a.m.

In Varsity 4+ action, UM used the team of Amanda Zacharkiewicz (bow), Kate Hall (2), Julie Creamer (3), Morgan Visalli (stroke) and Heather Hollembeak (coxswain) to cross the line at 8:14.86 in fifth place.