March 30, 2008

No. 2 Rowing Finishes Pac-10 Challenge With Three Victories

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - No. 2 Virginia won three varsity races to wrap up action at the Pac-10 Challenge in Redwood City, Calif., Sunday afternoon. In races against some of the top crews in the nation, the Cavaliers came up with victories in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four races.

"I thought it was great to see the speed that we saw," head coach Kevin Sauer said. "We had good races today and we are always looking for continued progress and each boat performed well."

Virginia won five races in Saturday action and performed well again Sunday. Against UCLA on the final day of competition, Virginia won the Varsity Eight (6:49.33), Second Varsity Eight (6:46.75) and Varsity Four (7:37.35) races.

Duke Rowing Goes Undefeated At Invitational On Lake Wheeler

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Duke rowing team picked up eight first place finishes at the Invitational on Lake Wheeler on Saturday, March 29, winning every event they entered by no less than nine seconds.

Included in the eight-win day were two wins each from the first and second varsity eights and the first and second varsity fours. Duke's top finishes in the first and second women's varsity eights and the women's varsity fours were the fastest on the day in the respective events.

In varsity eights action, the Blue Devils finished the 2,000 meter course in 7:18.2 in their first race to defeat a three-team field that featured Georgetown (7:31.4) and Delaware (7:44.8) while also setting the tone with the best varsity eights finish on the day. They followed with another top finish, putting together a 7:21.8 effort to cruise past George Mason (7:36.0) in a dual-style race.

Duke's second varsity eights group was just as successful, as the squad bested Delaware (8:16.9) and Northwestern (8:34.2) in 7:38.3 before blazing past George Mason (8:07.3) in 7:51.5 in their second outing. The 7:38.3 finish in the opener was also the best time on the day in the women's second varsity eights races.

Tar Heels Victorious At Carolina Cup

RALEIGH, N.C. - The North Carolina women's rowing team won seven of its 11 races Saturday morning at the Carolina Cup, which the Tar Heels co-hosted with Duke at Lake Wheeler. Also competing were Delaware, George Mason and Georgetown.

The Carolina second varsity eight won both of its races, the first in a time of 7:45.4 over George Mason and the second in 7:58.7 over Delaware. UNC's lineup was Paige Wall (coxswain), Diane Reynolds, Chandler Sours, Andi Drabot, Andrea McGovern, Kelsey Grich, JoAnne Rogers, Katie Wood and Kristi Roblin.

The UNC varsity eight split its races, beating George Mason with a time of 7:19.6 its first time down the course but finishing second to Georgetown in 7:30.4 in the second. The Tar Heel lineup for that boat was Shannon Wilson (coxswain), Maegan Wareham, Lisy McIntee, Lindley Barrow, Cara Van Dorn, Ruby Woodside, Whitney Hileman, Megan McMullin and Kathryn Winz.

Miami's Varsity 4 Beats UCF Saturday on Lake Pickett

ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of Miami rowing team, under the direction of first-year head coach Robbie Tenenbaum, opened its 2008 season against UCF Saturday, winning the Varsity Four race in a time of 7:32.59 on Orlando's Lake Pickett. Molly Thornton and Karalyn Van Aken, bow Courtney Guy, stroke Julianne Parker and coxswain Ana Cristina Mantilla made up the crew that beat UCF by nearly six seconds.

"I am proud of the way our team raced today," Tenenbaum said. "The Varsity 4 did a great job, grabbing the lead early and then continuing to pull away. The five student-athletes in this boat have really been improving all winter and spring, and I was so happy to see them beat a quality opponent."

Conditions were great on Lake Pickett. Temperatures for the race were in the mid 70's, while the wind was calm and the water was flat.