No. 14 Rowing Competitive on Day One of Clemson Invite

CLEMSON, SC – The 14th-ranked Clemson women’s rowing team finished no lower than third place in nine of their 12 races in the Clemson Invite on Saturday on Lake Hartwell. Clemson’s 1st Novice 8+ boat knocked off No. 4 Ohio State in a tight race that ended in a photo finish.

“I thought our team performed great today,” said Clemson Head Coach Robbie Tenenbaum. “We had some great races with Michigan and UCLA this morning. I thought we battled in the afternoon against a highly ranked Ohio State team that we really respect.”

Most of the excitement of the day, for Clemson at least, came in the afternoon session. The Tigers 1st Novice 8+ went neck-and-neck with Ohio State throughout the entire race. Both finished with a time of 6:45.0 but Clemson was declared the winner after photo review.

Clemson’s 1N8 finished second in their first race of the day falling just short of Michigan.

“Our First Novice Eight had a really close race this morning with Michigan and then another one with Ohio State in a photo finish,” Tenenbaum said. “I think they are growing up as student-athletes and as rowers and I think they are really going to make an impact on the program in future years.”

In the final race of the day, the Tigers’ 1st Varsity 8+ finished second with a time of 6:23.4 behind Ohio State with a time of 6:14.8. The 1V8 time of 6:23.4 is the best Clemson time on Lake Hartwell in school history. The previous record was 6:25.1 recorded on April 23, 2011, at the ACC Championships by the Tigers’ 1V8. 

The Tigers’ 1st Varsity 4+ and 2nd Varsity 8+ each finished second behind Ohio State in their respective races in the afternoon session. 

In the morning session, the Tigers competed against No. 5 UCLA, No. 13 Michigan, Indiana, Rhode Island and Texas. Clemson finished in third in the 1st Varsity 8+ race behind UCLA in first and Michigan in second in the first race of the day. 

The Tigers’ 2nd Varsity 8+ then finished second a few races later after finishing 2.8 seconds back of UCLA in first and 5.0 seconds ahead of Michigan in third. The Clemson 1st Varsity 4+ then recorded a third-place finish after coming in behind UCLA in first and Michigan in second. 

The Tigers recorded a pair of fourth-place finishes from both their 2nd Varsity 8+ and 2nd Novice in their respective races in the morning session. The 2nd Varsity 8+ finished third in their afternoon race while the 2nd Novice 8+ finished fourth in the afternoon session.

The Tigers will return to the water beginning at 8:07 AM on Sunday for day two of the Clemson Invite. It was originally schedule to begin at 8:53 AM but was moved up due to the threat of high winds.

Clemson Lineups1st Varsity 8+Katie Bruggeling (cox.), Giulia Longatti, Caroline Hackler, Ameerah Aly, Laura Basadonna, Milena Heuer, Heather Cummings, Marie Arnold, Paula Wesselmann 

2nd Varsity 8+Emily Massey (cox.), Stephannie Allen, Kristin Manna, Cristina Morcom, MJ Keys, Laura D’Urso, Kate Biladeau, Aurelia Wurzel, Samantha Duggan

1st Varsity 4+Carissa Richardson (cox.), Stephanie Cameron, Maria Jose Gutierrez, Kathleen Scibelli, Sarah Monn

2nd Varsity 4+(Sat AM and Sun AM)Jackie Kovach (cox.), Vanesa Ewais, Caroline Thomas, Kerianne Pacheco, Kelsey Igo 

2nd Varsity 4+(Sat PM)Danielle Hayden (cox.), Vanesa Ewais, Caroline Thomas, Sarah Egan, Kathryn Wiley

Novice 8+Emily Mutschler (cox.), Tatiana Lundstrom, Dana Zielinski, Rebecca Kretzer, Claire Wilson, Erin Ferguson, Julie Gilbert, Anna Skochdopole, Joanna Coombs 

2nd Novice 8+Katie Eidson (cox.), Katherine Peters, Katherine Reft, Danielle Baskin, Hannah DeFrank, Alison Rehfus, Rachel Jones, Courtney Fallon, Genevieve Schwemmer