#3 Tennessee Starts Strong on Day One of NCAA Championships

BETHEL, Ohio – The third-ranked Tennessee rowing team commenced the NCAA Championships Friday morning with three heat races at East Fork/Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio.

Each of Tennessee's three crews advanced to Saturday's AB semifinals with their performances.

Despite a gusty headwind that picked up as the morning progressed, Tennessee's First Eight boat came out strong as the first boat to hit the water for the Lady Vols. The crew earned a race victory in its heat with a final time of 7:00.246. That mark was 4.239 seconds faster than second-place, sixth-ranked California (7:04.485), 5.628 seconds ahead of third-place, No. 15 Ohio State (7:05.874) and a convincing 24.312 seconds faster than 12th-ranked Indiana, who placed fourth in the heat.

In the 2V8+ race, Tennessee put down a time of 7:02.803, good for a second-place finish behind only No. 7 Washington (6:58.424). The Lady Vols crossed the line nearly seven second ahead of ninth-ranked Michigan (7:09.561) and over 16 seconds ahead of No. 16 Duke (7:19.091), who finished fourth.

Tennessee's third and final heat of day one was the Four race, as its crew earned a hard-fought, second-place finish, with a time of 7:47.413. The Lady Vol boat crossed the line less than four seconds behind that of top-ranked Texas (7:43.529). The gap between Tennessee a third-place, No. 11 Pennsylvania was nearly 15 seconds, while the margin between UT and Duke was greater than 19 seconds.

Up next, each of the Lady Vols' three NCAA Championship crews compete in Saturday's AB semifinals. The Tennessee First Eight gets underway at 8:28 a.m. ET, its Second Eight is scheduled to race at 9:00 a.m. and its Four crew will take off at 9:40 a.m.

Race Results
First Eight (Heat):
1. #3 Tennessee (7:00.246)
2. #6 California (7:04.485)
3. #15 Ohio State (7:05.874)
4. #12 Indiana (7:24.558)
5. SMU (7:30.148)
6. Rhode Island (7:38.988)

Second Eight (Heat):
1. #7 Washington (6:58.424)
2. #3 Tennessee (7:02.803)
3. #9 Michigan (7:09.561)
4. #16 Duke (7:19.091)
5. Boston (7:42.395)

Four (Heat):
1. #1 Texas (7:43.529)
2. #3 Tennessee (7:47.413)
3. #11 Pennsylvania (8:02.182)
4. #16 Duke (8:06.503)
5. Boston (8:30.341)

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

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

1V4+: Laila Irigoyen (coxswain), Maylie Valiquette, Allison Lea, Natalia Loram, Sheya Lavin

Schedule (ET)
Saturday
8:28 a.m. – 1V8 Semifinals
9:00 a.m. – 2V8 Semifinals
9:40 a.m. – 1V4 Semifinals

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University of Tennessee Athletics

#3 Tennessee Starts Strong on Day One of NCAA Championships

Players Mentioned

Sarah Abrams

Nicole Campbell

Gracie Condon

Alice Fahey

Riley Ferdelman

Meg Flanagan

Erin Gifford

Megan Hewison

Sophie Hill

Laila Irigoyen

Sheya Lavin

Allison Lea

Natalia Loram

Stella Mirkovic

Alex Pidgeon

Sasha Radovanovic

Paige Reymann

Katie Rice

Hannah Richardson

Emma Seawright

Hannah Smith

Maylie Valiquette

Elizabeth Walley

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