#15 Tennessee Wows, Earns Nine Wins on Day One of Big Ten Invitational

#15 Tennessee Wows, Earns Nine Wins on Day One of Big Ten Invitational

April 19, 2024 | Rowing

Results Weekend Schedule Heat Sheets Watch Live (Saturday)

SARASOTA, Fla. – The 15th-ranked Tennessee rowing team stole the show Friday at the prestigious Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, Florida, recording nine wins in 10 races on day one of the event.

Including Tennessee, there are seven top-16 teams competing at Nathan Benderson Park this weekend: No. 5 Brown, No. 9 Michigan, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 13 Rutgers, No. 14 Duke, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 16 Indiana.

In Friday's morning session, the Lady Vols' first varsity eight crew—Sasha Radovanovic (coxswain), Meg Flanagan, Emma Seawright, Sarah Abrams, Alex Pidgeon, Riley Ferdelman, Alice Fahey, Nicole Campbell, Gracie Condon—earned a race win by crossing the line in 6:15.619, an impressive eight-plus seconds over ninth-ranked Michigan's 1V8+ (6:23.720) as the Wolverines finished in second place, while No. 13 Rutgers took third.

Although wind conditions were less consistent in the afternoon session, they remained mostly constant in the morning. Under that precedent, Tennessee's 1V8+ crew was 5.7 seconds faster than any of the other 17 first varsity eight boats in Friday's morning session.

UT's second varsity eight crew—Elizabeth Walley (coxswain), Sophie Hill, Megan Hewison, Stella Mirkovic, Hannah Smith, Hannah Richardson, Paige Reymann, Katie Rice, Erin Gifford—overpowered the field in the morning, posting a final time of 6:20.598 to grab a victory. That time not only outpaced Michigan (6:32.958) by over 12 seconds in the race, but was also faster than the result of Brown's first varsity eight (6:21.323) boat in a separate race during the morning session. Additionally, Tennessee's 2V8+ crew was 5.1 seconds faster than any of the other 17 2V8 boats that competed in the morning session.

In the morning's second varsity four race, Tennessee's lineup of Laila Irigoyen (coxswain), Casey Chronister, Beatrice Bernard, Abby Fowler and Alyssa Biernat rowed to a winning time of 7:14.667, over five seconds ahead of Michigan's 2V4+ (7:20.191). Rutgers' 2V4+ was nearly 12 seconds back of Tennessee with a time of 7:26.248.

Tennessee's fourth win of the morning session was accounted for by its third varsity eight boat, which crossed the line in 6:51.263. The Lady Vols did not slow down in the afternoon session, which began at 5 p.m. ET. In fact, their margins of victory only increased.

In the 1V8+ race, Tennessee was nearly 15 seconds ahead of No. 12 Ohio State's crew upon crossing the finish line, posting a strong final time of 6:25.802 to earn the win and boost its season record to 8-0.

Tennessee also posted a convincing win in the afternoon's 2V8+ race, crossing in 6:27.657 to increase the boat's season record to 9-0. That time was over 11 seconds ahead of Ohio State's crew.

After placing second in the morning session, UT's first varsity four crew—Laila Irigoyen (coxswain), Casey Chronister, Logan Yates, Abby Fowler, Sheya Lavin—earned a race win, crossing over six seconds ahead of Ohio State in the afternoon, with a time of 7:20.584.

The Lady Vols' 2V4+ boat joined in on the Tennessee's dominant afternoon, posting a victory with a final time of 7:25.556. Ohio State crossed the line nearly nine seconds later. Tennessee's 3V8+ crew posted a time of 6:53.324 in another afternoon race to earn yet another Lady Vol victory.

The Lady Vols conclude the Big Ten Invitational Saturday morning, with five races—the first of which set to begin at 8:40 a.m. ET—at Nathan Benderson Park.

Race Results:

Morning Session:
1V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:15.619)
2. #9 Michigan (6:23.720)
3. #13 Rutgers (6:24.537)
4. UCF (6:37.512)
5. SMU (6:45.571)

2V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:20.598)
2. #9 Michigan (6:32.958)
3. #13 Rutgers (6:34.088)
4. UCF (6:44.546)
5. SMU (6:54.313)

1V4+:
1. #9 Michigan (7:08.204)
2. #15 Tennessee (7:12.475)
3. #13 Rutgers (7:15.132)
4. UCF (7:17.940)
5. SMU (7:34.924)

2V4+:
1. #15 Tennessee (7:14.667)
2. #9 Michigan (7:20.191)
3. #13 Rutgers (7:26.248)
4. UCF (7:39.881)

3V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:51.263)
2. #9 Michigan (6:56.316)
3. #13 Rutgers (7:03.967)
4. UCF (Scratch)

Afternoon Session:
1V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:25.802)
2. #12 Ohio State (6:40.402)
3. Oklahoma (6:48.071)
4. Wisconsin (6:51.940)

2V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:27.657)
2. #12 Ohio State (6:39.421)
3. Wisconsin (6:55.130)
4. Oklahoma (7:00.893)

1V4+:
1. #15 Tennessee (7:20.584)
2. #12 Ohio State (7:26.690)
3. Wisconsin (7:45.110)
4. Oklahoma (7:53.608)

2V4+:
1. #15 Tennessee (7:25.556)
2. #12 Ohio State (7:34.504)
3. Wisconsin (7:54.052)
4. Oklahoma (8:01.685)

3V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:53.324)
2. Oklahoma (7:04.544)
3. #12 Ohio State (7:06.888)
4. Wisconsin (7:11.214)

Lineups
1V8+: Sasha Radovanovic (coxswain), Meg Flanagan, Emma Seawright, Sarah Abrams, Alex Pidgeon, Riley Ferdelman, Alice Fahey, Nicole Campbell, Gracie Condon

2V8+: Elizabeth Walley (coxswain), Sophie Hill, Megan Hewison, Stella Mirkovic, Hannah Smith, Hannah Richardson, Paige Reymann, Katie Rice, Erin Gifford

1V4+: Audrey Bast (coxswain), Sheya Lavin, Allison Lea, Logan Yates, Channing Taner

2V4+: Laila Irigoyen (coxswain), Casey Chronister, Beatrice Bernard, Abby Fowler, Alyssa Biernat

3V8+: Mykayla Fluster (coxswain), Lili Binetti, Paris Thornburg, Kiana Worobey, Natalia Loram, Tiara Dye, Maiya Birdling, Emarie Peacock, Evelyn Hedrick

1V4+ (afternoon session): Laila Irigoyen (coxswain), Casey Chronister, Logan Yates, Abby Fowler, Sheya Lavin

2V4+ (afternoon session): Audrey Bast (coxswain), Channing Taner, Beatrice Bernard, Allison Lea, Alyssa Biernat

Saturday Schedule
8:40 a.m. ET – 2V4
8:50 a.m. ET – 1V4
9:00 a.m. ET – 2V8
9:10 a.m. ET – 1V8
11:00 a.m. ET – 3V8

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