Lady Vols Open Strong at Lake Wheeler Invitational

April 21, 2023 | Rowing

RALEIGH, N.C. – A strong showing from the Tennessee 2V8 highlighted a solid day of racing for the Lady Vols at the Lake Wheeler Invitational.

"Our crews did a good job of making the racing at Lake Wheeler very exciting today," Head Coach Lisa Glenn said. "In nine out of 10 races, the announcers could not ignore Tennessee's attacks on the course. We've got one more chance tomorrow to close this out the way we want to, and our crews will throw everything they have into it."

The 2V8 boat paced a great morning session by winning its heat and picking up a top-10 win, while three other crews earned second-place finishes. In the afternoon, the 2V8 and 3V8 lineups came in second in their heats, as the Lady Vols are tied for fifth among the 18 teams.

In the 2V8 lineup, Abigail Bacci coxed the boat of Kate Schildmeyer, Casey Chronister, Beatrice Bernard, Alex Pidgeon, Riley Ferdelman, Paige Reymann, Sheya Lavin and Haley Savastano to a 9-1 record on the day. The crew won its first race of the day thanks to an impressive 6:27.189 time to defeat top opponents No. 9 Syracuse and Boston University, which received votes in the most recent coaches poll. The effort was the third-fastest mark by a second varsity eight boat during the morning and was faster 14 of the first varsity eights.

During the squad's second race of the day, the 2V8 came in second behind eighth-ranked Penn with a time of 6:57.188 but topped Clemson and Alabama—both of which received votes—as well as Boston College and Louisville. The boat's effort was the second best of the 2V8 races in the afternoon, crossing the finish line faster than No. 9 Syracuse (6:59.561), No. 14 Duke (7:01.545) and No. 19 Iowa (7:08.445).

The 1V8 crew posted wins against Georgetown and Louisville with a time of 6:34.743 in the morning session. In the second race of the day, the crew outpaced the Cardinals again thanks to a 6:58.120 effort and also topped Boston College.

In the 3V8 races, the squad of Laila Irigoyen, Elena Jerkovic, Megan Czarnecki, Ava Sangiuliano, Haley McMullen, Evelyn Hedrick, Grace Rickman, Morgan Marshall and Autumn Pavuk earned a pair of second-place finishes on the day, compiling a 6-2 record with wins against Clemson, Georgetown, Louisville (2x), Penn and Oklahoma. Its top time of the day came during the morning session with a 6:50.004 effort, while its afternoon mark of 7:17.329 was the second-best third varsity eight time of the session.

In the varsity four races, the 1V4 boat took second in the morning cap before finishing third in the second session of the day. With a 7:22.037 time in its first race, the lineup of Lauren Reboul, Hannah Smith, Kiana Worobey, Kayla Anderson and Lucy Marret defeated Boston, Georgetown, Louisville and Oklahoma. In its second race of the day, the Big Orange bested Boston College, Clemson and Louisville.

The 2V4 crew of Ella Hill, Maiya Birdling, Alyssa Biernat, Grace Wolfenbarger and Sarah Powell finished second (7:25.238) in the morning session and third (7:53.586) in the afternoon session. The boat picked up wins against Boston College, Clemson and Oklahoma.

The Lady Vols return to action Saturday morning for the final session of the Lake Wheeler Invitational. Due to weather, the competition has moved up its start time for the final day to 7:30 a.m. ET with the 1V8 races.

RACE RESULTS
Friday
Morning Session
1V8 – 1. #9 Syracuse (6:19.045), 2. RV Boston (6:30.745), 3. Oklahoma (6:33.091), 4. RV Tennessee (6:34.743), 5. Louisville (6:35.863), 6. Georgetown (6:46.069)
2V8 – 1. RV Tennessee (6:27.189), 2. #9 Syracuse (6:31.789), 3. RV Boston (6:36.265), 4. Louisville (6:44.895), 5. Oklahoma (6:50.595), 6. Georgetown (6:55.811)
1V4 – 1. #9 Syracuse (7:13.793), 2. RV Tennessee (7:22.037), 3. RV Boston (7:24.957), 4. Georgetown (7:33.207), 5. Oklahoma (7:35.181), 6. Louisville (7:58.073)
2V4 – 1. Syracuse (7:13.014), 2. Tennessee (7:25.238), 3. Oklahoma (7:30.376), 4. Penn 3V4 (7:35.416), 5. Syracuse 3V4 (7:59.172)
3V8 – 1. Syracuse (6:44.486), 2. Tennessee (6:50.004), 3. Louisville (7:00.300), 4. Oklahoma (7:03.746), 5. Georgetown (7:23.002)

Afternoon Session
1V8 – 1. #8 Penn (6:43.958), 2. RV Alabama (6:55.522), 3. RV Clemson (6:56.130), 4. RV Tennessee (6:58.120), 5. Louisville (7:05.180), 6. Boston College (7:15.268)
2V8 – 1. #8 Penn (6:47.610), 2. RV Tennessee (6:57.188), 3. RV Clemson (7:06.536), 4. Louisville (7:12.886), 5. Boston College (7:17.932), 6. RV Alabama (7:22.840)
1V4 – 1. #8 Penn (7:44.020), 2. RV Alabama (7:49.012), 3. RV Tennessee (7:51.740), 4. RV Clemson (8:05.788), 5. Boston College (8:10.446), 6. Louisville (8:23.926)
2V4 – 1. Penn (7:45.404), 2. Alabama (7:49.138), 3. Tennessee (7:53.586), 4. Boston College (8:10.080), 5. Clemson (8:11.722), 6. Syracuse 3V4 (8:15.858)
3V8 – 1. Alabama (7:14.025), 2. Tennessee (7:17.329), 3. Penn (7:25.843), 4. Clemson (7:32.603), 5. Louisville (7:49.015)

LINEUPS
1V8: Elizabeth Walley, Reagan Long, Emma Seawright, Gabriela Natale, Katie Rice, Logan Yates, Natalia Loram, Sydney Pardy, Erin Gifford
2V8: Abigail Bacci, Kate Schildmeyer, Casey Chronister, Beatrice Bernard, Alex Pidgeon, Riley Ferdelman, Paige Reymann, Sheya Lavin, Haley Savastano
1V4: Lauren Reboul, Hannah Smith, Kiana Worobey, Kayla Anderson, Lucy Marret
2V4: Ella Hill, Maiya Birdling, Alyssa Biernat, Grace Wolfenbarger, Sarah Powell
3V8: Laila Irigoyen, Elena Jerkovic, Megan Czarnecki, Ava Sangiuliano, Haley McMullen, Evelyn Hedrick, Grace Rickman, Morgan Marshall, Autumn Pavuk

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