May 31, 2009

Clemson's Varsity 4+ Crew Wins National Championship
The Varsity 4+ captured Clemson's first-ever national championship today at the NCAA Rowing Championships in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The Tigers Varsity 4+ captured the Grand Final by 1.76 seconds over Wisconsin to earn 16 team points. Clemson led by more than two seconds at both the halfway mark and the 1,500-meter mark before holding off the Badgers down the stretch. The winning time for the Tigers was 7:26.78, while Wisconsin crossed the finish line in 7:28.54. Yale (7:30.81), California (7:32.01), Stanford (7:32.29) and Virginia (7:34.26) finished in third through sixth place to complete the championship field.

The Tiger's winning crew consisted of Kelly Murphy, Lydia Hassell, Callen Erdeky, Allison Colberg and coxswain Meredith Razzolini. The Varsity 4+ was led by assistant coach Andrew Carter.

UVa Finishes Fourth at NCAA Championships
Virginia finished with 78 points, including a second-place finish in the Varsity Eight, to claim fourth place at the 2009 NCAA Rowing Championships Sunday on the Cooper River.

The runner-up finish for the Varsity Eight tied the highest in program history, besting a third-place finish in 2000. The Cavaliers also finished second in 1999.

As a team, the Cavaliers finished in the top four for the eighth time in the 13-year history of the championships, with the program's all-time top overall finish being second. Stanford was this year's NCAA Champion with 88 points, followed by California (85) and Yale (85). California edged out Yale for second place by virtue of a better finish in the grand final of the Varsity Eight.