March 31, 2009

Greensboro, N.C. - Virginia's Second Varsity Eight+ Crew defeated PAC-10 powers Stanford, California and UCLA, March 28-29, in the PAC-10 Challenge in Redwood, Calif., and Tuesday was named the ACC's Rowing Crew of the Week.

On the first day of competition on Saturday, Virginia's second varsity eight boat posted a time of 6:52.8 in defeating UCLA (7:16.2).

On Sunday, Virginia's 2V8+ posted a time of 6:31.7 in defeating 5th-ranked California (6:34.9) and then came back later to post a time of 6:48.3 to down 4th-ranked Stanford (6:50.5).

In the races against Stanford and California, Virginia 2v8+ time was actually a shade better than its 1V8+ times.

Virginia second varsity eight boat crew is composed of coxswain Cristine Candland (Greenwich, Conn.), Lauren Shook (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.), Claudia Blandford (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.), Helen Tompkins (Friendswood, Tex.), Christine Roper (Reading, St. James, Jamaica), Susie Chalker (Mercer Island, Wash.), Nora Phillips (Arlington, Va.) and Shalane Carlson (Nanaimo, Canada).

Virginia's 2V8+ Crew edged out similar outstanding performances from Clemson's Novice Eight crew, which defeated Stanford and UCLA at the PAC-10 Challenge; and the first varsity eight boat of North Carolina which swept Georgetown, George Mason and George Washington in meets on the Potomac River and Occoquan Reservoir in and around Washington, DC.