Lady Vol 1V8 Earns Big 12 Boat of the Week Honors

IRVING, Texas – After multiple dominant performances at the Big Ten Invitational over the weekend, the fifth-ranked Tennessee rowing team's first varsity eight boat has been named the Big 12 Boat of the Week by league coaches, the conference announced Wednesday.

The boat was coxed by Sasha Radovanovic and featured Meg Flanagan, Emma Seawright, Sarah Abrams, Alex Pidgeon, Riley Ferdelman, Alice Fahey, Nicole Campbell and Gracie Condon on day one of the event. On Saturday, Stella Mirkovic filled in for Ferdelman in the 1V8's four seat.

Friday morning saw Tennessee's 1V8+ crew post the fastest time of any boat in competition all weekend at the Big Ten Invitational, an event that included seven top-16 teams at the time of the races.

This marks the 10th time since joining the Big 12 during the 2014-15 campaign in which the Lady Vols have earned Boat of the Week honors. It's the 1V8's first Big 12 weekly recognition since April 20, 2022, a season in which the boat earned the award four times.

Logging a 10-0 record over the course of three races this past weekend in Sarasota, UT's 1V8 crew improved its season record to 11-0.

Tennessee's 1V8 crew opened the three-session regatta with a convincing victory Friday morning, crossing the line in 6:15.619 to defeat then-ninth-ranked Michigan (6:23.720), No. 13 Rutgers (6:24.537), UCF (6:37.512) and SMU (6:45.571).

In Friday's afternoon session, Tennessee was nearly 15 seconds ahead of then-No. 12 Ohio State's crew (6:40.402) upon crossing the finish line, posting a strong final time of 6:25.802 to earn the win. That time marked the fastest time of any boat in the field during Friday's afternoon session. The Lady Vols also conquered Oklahoma (6:48.071) and Wisconsin (6:51.940) on the way to the afternoon victory.

The UT crew capped the event Saturday with another dominant race victory over a trio of top-16 foes, posting a time of 6:23.176. That outpaced No. 13 Rutgers (6:28.126), then-16th-ranked Indiana (6:29.954) and then-No. 14 Duke (6:31.288).

1V8+ Times – Big Ten Invitational:
Friday - A.M. Session:
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)

Friday - P.M. Session:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:25.802)
2. #12 Ohio State (6:40.402)
3. Oklahoma (6:48.071)
4. Wisconsin (6:51.940)

Saturday:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:23.176)
2. #13 Rutgers (6:28.126)
3. #16 Indiana (6:29.954)
4. #14 Duke (6:31.288)

*Listed rankings are from the time of the event.

Up next, Tennessee travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the Lake Wheeler Invitational, running Friday-Saturday, April 26-27. Including the Lady Vols, five top-18 teams will be in action at the event, along with four other schools in the receiving votes category of Wednesday's updated CRCA Rankings.

For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee rowing on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Sarah Abrams

Nicole Campbell

Gracie Condon

Alice Fahey

Riley Ferdelman

Meg Flanagan

Stella Mirkovic

Alex Pidgeon

Sasha Radovanovic

Emma Seawright

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