University of Tennessee Athletics
ROWING BREAKS INTO TOP 20 FOR FIRST TIME
April 16, 2003 | Rowing
April 16, 2003
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
The Lady Vol rowing team has broken into the top 20 of the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll for the first time since the program began in 1995-96. Thanks in part to a dominating performance at the George Washington Invitational Crew Classic last weekend, Tennessee picked up 33 points in the April 16 version of the poll to rate 20th.
"Being ranked 20th for the first time is exciting," UT Head Coach Lisa Glenn said. "It represents a certain recognition of the caliber of opponent Tennessee is becoming. What we will need to remember, however, is that polls are recognition and race day is definition. This is a special day though. I credit my athletes, who I am proud of and who are so great to be working with at this time in Tennessee Rowing history, as well as my staff members, who I appreciate very much."
In our Nation's Capital, UT's Varsity 8+ crew battled a strong headwind and current on the Potomac River to claim victory by nearly 20 seconds over the second-place Colonials. In addition, the Lady Vols won the 2nd Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+ and Novice 8+ races by margins of more than 12 seconds each.
California garnered 24 of the 25 first-place votes in this week's poll to maintain its position at No. 1, while Washington was again ranked second. Harvard earned one first-place vote after upsetting then-No. 3 Princeton on April 12, and moved up from the 13th position to No. 3 in the ratings. Stanford is ranked fourth, while Princeton and Michigan are tied for fifth.
The Lady Vols will next compete at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta, April 18-19, on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
USRowing/CRCA NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll
| Women's Varsity Eights | ||
| Team | (1st-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1 | University of California at Berkeley (24) | 497 |
| 2 | University of Washington | 469 |
| 3 | Harvard University (1) | 423 |
| 4 | Stanford University | 414 |
| 5t | Princeton University | 384 |
| 5t | University of Michigan | 384 |
| 7 | University of Southern California | 367 |
| 8 | Brown University | 335 |
| 9 | Yale University | 292 |
| 10 | Michigan State University | 256 |
| 11 | The Ohio State University | 255 |
| 12 | University of Virginia | 224 |
| 13 | Washington State University | 221 |
| 14 | Cornell University | 144 |
| 15 | Oregon State University | 138 |
| 16 | University of Iowa | 118 |
| 17 | Syracuse University | 113 |
| 18 | Boston University | 87 |
| 19 | University of Texas | 65 |
| 20 | University of Tennessee | 33 |
| Others receiving votes: Duke University 16, University of Pennsylvania 11, George Washington University 2, University of Notre Dame 1, and University of West Virginia 1 | ||
