University of Tennessee Athletics
NO. 20 LADY VOLS READY FOR SIRA CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA
April 17, 2003 | Rowing
April 17, 2003
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
The Tennessee Rowing team, ranked 20th in the USRowing/CRCA Varsity Eight Coaches Poll, heads to nearby Oak Ridge for the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta on April 18 & 19.
The Lady Vols will enter shells in the Varsity 8+, second Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+, Novice 8+ and Novice 4+ events on Melton Hill Lake. In the Varsity 8+, UT faces a tough 23-boat field.
Preliminary heats begin Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. with the Novice 4+, followed by the Novice 8+ at 2:07 p.m., the 2nd Varsity 8+ at 3 p.m., the Varsity 4+ at 3:44 p.m. and the Varsity 8+ at 4:40 p.m. The semifinals for all races will be held between 7:30-11 a.m. on Saturday, after which six shells will advance to the grand final, six to the petite final and six to the "C" final of each event. "C" finals take place from 1:50-2:50 p.m., while the grand and petite finals are scheduled for between 3:15-5:50 p.m.
Tennessee is coming off a dominating performance at the George Washington Invitational Crew Classic thet helped earn UT its first top-20 ranking in program history. On the Potomac River, the Lady Vols raced through a strong headwind and current to down second-place G.W. by a margin of 19.9 seconds. In addition, UT claimed victory in the 2nd Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+ and Novice 8+ races by margins of more than 12 seconds each.
At last season's SIRA Championships, the Lady Vols took home first place in the grand final of the Varsity 8+ with a time of 7:08.2. Additionally, UT finished runner-up in the 2nd Varsity 8+ grand final, and third in the grand finals of both the Novice 8+ and Novice 4+ races.
After the competition in Oak Ridge, Tennessee will head to South Carolina for the Clemson Classic, April 27, on Lake Hartwell.
