May 19, 2009

Greensboro, N.C.— Virginia’s First Varsity Eight Crew was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Crew of the Week for their efforts in leading 11th-ranked Virginia to the South/Central Regional Team Championship this past weekend on Lake Melton in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

UVa’s First Varsity Eight crew--composed of coxswain Sidney Thorsten (Atlanta, Ga.), Jennifer Cromwell (Bellvue, Wash.), Helen Tomkpins (Friendswood, Tex.), Desiree Burns (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Amanda Chase (Woodbridge, Va.), Lauren Hutchins (North Vancouver, Can.), Augusta Stratos (Charlottesville, Va.), Nora Phillips (Arlington, Va.) and Victoria Burke (Redding, Conn.)--made their return to Lake Melton, the scene of their first ACC Championship defeat, a triumphant one as the Cavaliers upset 3rd-ranked Michigan State, 6th ranked Michigan, 8th-ranked Ohio State and 10th-ranked Clemson.

Virginia’s First Varsity Eight finished first in the Grand Final with a season’s best time of 6:03.2, with Michigan second (6:05.3), Michigan State third (6:07.7), Wisconsin fourth (6:08.6), Clemson fifth (6:09.2) and Ohio State sixth (6:12.6).

The win in the First Varsity Eight competition along with first-place finishes in the Second Varsity Eight and the Novice Eight races allowed Virginia’s to win its sixth South/Central Regional title in the last seven years, scoring 387 points to take the team title ahead of Michigan State (348) Ohio State (328), Wisconsin (321), Michigan State (320) and Clemson (311).

The ACC Crew of the Week honor was the second straight for Virginia’s First Varsity Eight Boat, which also claimed ACC honors for the week of April 28.