12th Ranked Clemson Rowing Wins Four Races at Clemson Sprints

March 20, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson rowing team had a successful day as they won all four races they competed in at the Clemson Sprints held Saturday morning on Lake Hartwell. The Tigers competed against Alabama, Indiana, Marist and Purdue in a regatta that featured six 2000 meter races.

“As a coaching staff we are pleased with the depth and work ethic of this program,” said Head Coach Richard Ruggieri. “With this depth, comes the challenge of putting together the fastest team while also maximizing speed in the Varsity 8. The next two weeks will be pivotal, particularly at the Varsity 8 level. I am confident our rowers will remain aggressive, cohesive and eager to get better. The racing continues to heat up and we need to match it.”

The first race pitted the varsity eight crews from each school against each other. The Tigers group of coxswaim Kelly Murphy at stroke, Liz Robb, Brittany Cummings, Sarah Daanen, Becca Brown, Michelle Nance and Zsofia Bende at bow, took the win in a time of 6:44.15 over five seconds ahead of second place Indiana. Purdue’s varsity eight finished third, Alabama came in fourth and Marist was fifth.

Then the second varsity eights took to the water, with Clemson taking the win, Indiana finishing second, Alabama third, Purdue fourth and Marist fifth. The Tigers’ group of coxswain Melissa Weaver, Lydia Hassell at stroke, Jessica Gaul, Leah Kelly, Grace Wolff, Beata Saska, Katharine Mosier at bow came in with a time of 6:51.61.

In the third race, the varsity four boats competed as Clemson had three boats in the race, Indiana two and Purdue one. The Tigers swept the top three spots with the varsity four (coxswain Meredith Razzolini, Corey Geer at stroke, Connie Gorman, Callen Erdeky and Allison Colberg at bow) taking first in a time of 7:43.51, the third varsity group of coxswain Jenna Zylstra, Mairi Trimboli at stroke, Emily Lavender, Paige Griffith and Andrea Belbusti, Brittany Burns at stroke, Rebekah Clogston, Kristen Agee and Marissa Henry at bow was third with a 8:07.64.

The novice eights from each school competed in the fourth race with Clemson coming in on top, Alabama taking second, Indiana third, Purdue fourth and Marist fifth. Clemson’s group of coxswain Kelly Hall at stroke, Emilyn Banfield, Caroline Fregeau, Erin Grubbs and Sarah Monn at bow finished first in a time of 7:02.93.

The Tigers did not compete in the final two races. The fifth race featured the second novice eight boats from Indiana, Purdue and Alabama. The Tide took the win in a time of 7:40.00, with Purdue finishing second and Indiana third. The final race of the day was Alabama’s third varsity eight against Purdue’s. Alabama took first with a time of 7:20.48.

For videos of each of the races from today’s regatta, check the Clemson rowing facebook page and that link can be found on the rowing home page at clemsontigers.com. Clemson will return to action Saturday, March 27 when they host Cornell on Lake Hartwell at 9:00 a.m.

Clemson Rowing Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clemson-SC/Clemson-University-Womens-Rowing-Team/385759101943?ref=ts

Full Results:

Race 1 Clemson V8 6:44.15 Indiana V8 6:49.66 Purdue V8 6:53.83 Alabama V8 7:07.62 Marist V8 7:27.27

Race 2 Clemson 2V8 6:51.61 Indiana 2V8 7:02.41 Alabama 2V8 7:08.05 Purdue 2V8 7:24.69 Marist 2V8 7:29.00

Race 3 Clemson V4 7:43.51 Clemson 3V4 7:57.13 Clemson 2V4 8:07.64 Indiana V4 8:20.40 Indiana 2V4 8:35.30 Purdue N4 9:12.74

Race 4 Clemson N8 7:02.93 Alabama N8 7:13.92 Indiana N8 7:16.48 Purdue N8 7:39.78 Marist N8 7:59.53

Race 5 Alabama 2N8 7:40.00 Purdue 2N8 7:48.67 Indiana 2N8 7:56.15

Race 6 Alabama 3V8 7:20.48 Purdue 3V8 7:40.71