Clemson Rowing Dominates North Carolina To Begin Spring Season

March 13, 2004

The Clemson rowing team kicked off its spring season in dominating fashion by winning all seven races against North Carolina Saturday on Lake Hartwell. The near-perfect weather conditions set the stage for a picturesque start to 2004 for the Tigers.

“This is a great start for the spring season. Today’s results showed the girls that their hard work and mental toughness during training can really pay off,” said head coach Susie Lueck. “The team unity and positive competition will continue to push our team and make us faster.”

In the first race of the day, the Tiger Varsity 8+ pulled away from their Tar Heel counterpart at the 1000m mark and finished in a time of 6:50.9 to North Carolina’s 7:02.8. Clemson never looked back and the Novice 8+ blew away the Tar Heels, finishing in 7:01.4 and winning by a 36.6 second margin.

The third race of the day, the 2nd Varsity 8+, saw two Clemson shells finish ahead of North Carolina. Clemson ‘A’ completed the course in a time of 7:05.4, Clemson ‘B’ had a time of 7:12.5 and North Carolina finished in 7:19.0. After Clemson’s 2nd Novice 8+ defeated North Carolina with a time of 7:19.0, the two schools each entered two squads for the Varsity 4+ and Second Varsity 4+ races.

In the Varsity 4+ race, Clemson ‘A’ won with a time of 7:27.0 ahead of North Carolina ‘A’ and its time of 7:32.0. The Tar Heel shell was the only one to finish ahead of a Clemson shell in the entire regatta, as Clemson ‘B’ finished third in a time of 7:36.3. North Carolina’s ‘B’ squad finished in 8:01.1.

Clemson finished 1-2 in the 2nd Varsity 8+ with times of 7:48.4 and 7:58.0. North Carolina completed the race in 8:02.7 and 8:12.2.

The strong Clemson crowd then cheered loudly as the Tigers went for the sweep in the final race of the day, the Novice 4+. Clemson ‘A’ won the race with a time of 7:40.1, followed by Clemson ‘B’ at 7:48.0 and North Carolina at 8:12.2.

Clemson will next host the Miami on Sunday, March 21 in a One Clemson…Solid Orange event. Festivities will begin at 8:30 with a boat dedication and the first race will begin at 9:00 AM.

“We are looking forward to a great week of training during spring break and improving as we take on Miami,” said Lueck.