Clemson Rowing To Compete In South Region Regatta

May 11, 2001

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Clemson’s Upcoming Schedule

May 12-13 South and Central Region Sprints/Lexus Cup Oak Ridge, TN

May 24-26 NCAA Championships Gainesville, GA

Tigers To Travel To Tennessee For South Region Regatta The Tiger rowing team will travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn., to compete in the South Region Sprints and Lexus Cup Saturday and Sunday on Melton Hill Lake. Nineteen teams, including many of the top-ranked programs in the nation, will compete on the 2000m course sponsored by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association for a bid to the National Championships May 24-26 on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, GA. Clemson, ranked 17th in the May 9 poll, will compete in the field that includes #2 Michigan, #8 Ohio State, #12 Michigan State, #13 Iowa and #16 Notre Dame. Additionally, teams from Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami, Murray State, North Carolina, Southern Methodist, Tennessee, Texas and Tulsa will row at the regional.

“We are excited have the opportunity to race some of the top ranked programs in the country this weekend in Oak Ridge. It will be a great opportunity for the South Region to compete side-by-side with the Central Region,” said head coach Susie Lueck. “With classes and finals over for the semester, we are focused intently on rowing and racing to our potential.”

South Region Sprints/Lexus Cup Schedule Racing begins at 9:45 on Saturday with the first novice eight race in which the Tigers will face Murray State, Minnesota, North Carolina and Iowa, with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals. At 10:30 a.m., Clemson’s first varsity four will compete against Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tulsa with the winner of the race advancing to the final.

The second varsity eight will compete against Kansas State, North Carolina, Kansas, Ohio State, Texas and Tulsa at 11:00 a.m. with the winner advancing to the finals.

At 11:30 a.m., the Tigers’ first varsity eight team will race Cincinnati, Tulsa, Ohio State, Kansas and Minnesota with the top four finishers advancing to the semifinals.

The regatta will break for lunch and then resume at 2:00 p.m. with the first novice eight semifinals. The top three finishers will advance to the grand finals, while the fourth through sixth-place finishers will compete in the petite final.

The first varsity four repechage is scheduled for 2:30 with the top two finishers advancing to the grand finals. The third through fifth place finishers will advance to the petite finals and the sixth place finisher will advance to the third level or C final.

At 3:00, the second varsity eight will compete in their repechage race. The top two teams will advance to the grand finals, while the third, fourth and fifth place finishers will advance to the petite final and the sixth-place boat will compete in the third level of C final.

The first varsity eight semifinals is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., with the top three teams advancing to the grand final and the fourth through sixth-place teams advancing to the petite final.

The regatta resumes Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m. with the first novice eight petite final. The first novice eight grand final is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. At 9:45 a.m., Clemson, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Tennessee will compete in the second varsity four grand final. The first varsity four petite final is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. followed by the first varsity four grand final at 10:15 a.m. The second varsity eight petite final is slated for 10: 30 a.m. and the second varsity eight grand final follows at 10:45 a.m. The first varsity eight petite final will take place at 11:00 a.m., while the first varsity eight grand final will conclude the meet at 11:15 a.m.

Probable Clemson Lineups

First Varsity Eight C – Gail Cadorniga 8 – Aimee Fox 7 – Katherine Sloan 6 – Farrell Finstad 5 – Lauren Henne 4 – Megan McGuirt 3 – Lucy Doolittle 2 – Kathy Sickinger 1 – Lisa Mischley

Second Varsity Eight C – Emily Kuivila 8 – Liz Monteith 7 – Kim Brown 6 – Erin Mickey 5 – Jen Dillinger 4 – Heidi Robillard 3 – Sally Kukla 2 – Kate Niebauer 1 – Mary Catherine Manning

Novice Eight C – Jennie Goldammer 8 – Kali Spink 7 – Leslie Goss 6 – Jill Evans 5 – Marianne Grant 4 – Carrie Sinnott 3 – Leslie McCartney 2 – Charylnda Nyenke 1 – Jill Howard

Varsity Four C – Lisa Christopher 4 – Christina Lindsey 3 – Kate Barton 2 – Jaimee Kamnik 1 – Nicollette Burgess

Second Varsity Four C – Lynn Hall 4 – Chelsea Mylett 3 – Diane Wallendjack 2 – Jaime McAlister 1 – Loran Rogers

Last Year At The Central Region Regatta The Tigers finished fourth in last year’s Central Sprints/Lexus Cup regatta. Clemson finished behind Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State with 34 points. The Tigers’ varsity four boat won the grand final race, defeating Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State with a time of 7:33.4, while the second varsity four boat placed third in its grand final race with a time of 7:50.9. Clemson’s first varsity eight finished second in the petite final (6:50.4) and the second varsity eight was fourth in its grand final with a time of 6:49.4. The first novice eight boat placed fourth in the grand final with a time of 7:02.02.

Tigers In The Polls Clemson earned a top 20 national ranking for the first time in the history of the program this season. The Tigers received votes in the Apr. 4 poll, ranking 26th in terms of possible points. On Apr. 11, Clemson broke into the top 20 with a ranking of 15. Clemson dropped to 17th on Apr. 18 and remained there for the next two ranking periods. In the most recent poll released on May 9, the Tigers moved up one spot to 17. Clemson is also ranked in the south region. The Tigers are second as a team, and the first and second varsity eights are ranked second. The fours are ranked fourth in the region behind Virginia, Tennessee and Texas.

Clemson In The ACC Championships The Tigers finished second in the ACC Championships, an event held April 28th on Lake Hartwell on the Clemson campus. Virginia claimed its second conference title, winning the regatta with 38 points. The Tigers tallied 32 points to finish second, while Duke and North Carolina tied with 15 points each. Clemson finished second in the second varsity four race with a time of 7:57.10, 20.6 seconds behind victorious Virginia who recorded a time of 7:36.5. Duke was third with a time of 8:01.00, and North Carolina finished fourth in 8:03.1.

The Tigers won the first varsity four race with a time of 7:27.7, their fastest time of the season, while the Cavaliers were second with a time of 7:30.2. It was the first ACC boat race championsihp for the Tigers and the first time in two years a team had beaten Virginia in ACC Regatta competition. The Tar Heels finished third in 7:36 and Duke was fourth with a time of 7:37.4.

In the second varsity eight race, Virginia once again won, recording a time of 6:40.5. Clemson finished second in 6:50.2 and North Carolina was third in 7:00.4. Duke posted a time of 7:06.3 to finish fourth. The Cavaliers claimed the first varsity eight race with a time of 6:31.3, defeating the second-place Tigers by a little over five seconds, who finished with a time of 6:36.6. Duke finished third with a time of 6:43.5 and North Carolina finished fourth in 6:53.4.

Clemson Rowing Honors Head coach Susie Lueck, in her third season with the Tigers, received Coach of the Year honors, while the Tigers’ first varsity eight boat was selected as Crew of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Clemson’s varsity eight boat is comprised of coxswain Gail Cadorniga, Aimee Fox, Katherine Sloan, Farrell Finstad, Lauren Henne, Megan McGuirt, Lucy Doolittle, Kathy Sickinger and Lisa Mischley. Lucy Doolittle and Aimee Fox were also named to the nine member All-ACC team. It was the second straight year Doolittle was chosen and the first time for Fox.

Henne Receives ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Award Lauren Henne is one of 19 Atlantic Coast Conference scholar athletes who were named recipients of the 2001 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarships, as announced by Commissioner John Swofford. The scholarships are awarded to selected senior student-athletes who have intentions of continuing academic work as full-time graduate students. Each recipient will receive $5,000 to use toward his or her graduate education. These student-athletes have performed with distinction in the classroom and in their respective sports, and have demonstrated exemplary conduct in the community.

Henne, a native of Hilton Head, SC, was an All-ACC selection and a member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll in both 1999 and 2000. She was a team captain in 2000 and a co-captain in 1999. Henne earned the team’s Most Valuable Athlete Award and was also the co-winner of the team’s Most Inspirational Varsity Athlete award.

Clemson’s Top 25 Programs in 2000-2001 Eleven Clemson athletic teams currently have top 25 national rankings. The list includes six teams that have finished their 2000-01 season and five who are currently competing.

The list includes the Clemson women’s rowing team that is ranked 17th in the nation. The program is in just its third year of existence. The only other Clemson program to have a top 20 ranking by its third year is the Clemson women’s soccer program, which finished its first season (1994) ranked 13th in the nation.

The highest ranked active sport is the Clemson golf team, which is third in the nation in the latest MasterCard Collegiate Golf rankings. Larry Penley’s team has been ranked in the top three in the nation in every poll this year.

The Tiger baseball team is ranked 13th by one poll, while both track teams are ranked in the top 25 in the nation. The Lady Tigers are eighth, while the men are 21st.

Earlier this year, the Clemson football team finished 15th in the final USA Today Coaches poll and 16th by Associated Press. Both soccer teams had final top 10 rankings, as the Lady Tigers were fifth and the men finished eighth.

In the winter, the Clemson women’s track team finished third at the NCAA meet, its best indoor track finish in history. Bob Pollock’s men’s team won the ACC indoor championship and finished 20th at the national meet. Jim Davis and the Lady Tiger basketball team had a 22nd final ranking in Associated Press and USA today.

If the teams currently in season hold their rankings it would give Clemson 11 top 25 teams and six top 10 teams for the 2000-01 academic year. Clemson has not had 11 top 25 teams in the same academic year since 1991-92 when it had a record13 teams ranked in the final top 25. Clemson has not had six top 10 teams since 1982-83 when it had a record eight squads in the final top 10 of their respective sport.

These rankings should contribute to a high finish in the Sears Cup, the national all-sports rankings. Clemson’s highest finish in the Sears Poll is 16th in 1993-94. Clemson had a number-three final ranking in the Knoxville Journal All-Sports Ranking in 1979-80, its highest finish ever in any all-sports ranking.

Clemson National Rankings in 2000-01

*Seasons still in progress