OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Clemson Tigers are set to open the spring season at the Rocky Top Invite on Friday and Saturday at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Racing starts Friday at 3 p.m. with the preliminary races. Semifinals start Saturday morning, with Finals beginning around noon. The regatta marks the beginning of the second year of competition under Head Coach Adrienne Martelli.
Clemson was ranked No. 21 in the CRCA Preseason Poll, its highest preseason ranking since 2014. The Tigers are also led by senior Rose Imbesi, who was named to the 2026 Preseason All-ACC Rowing Watch List.
Clemson will bring multiple boats to compete across the two-day event, beginning Friday and concluding on Saturday.
Teams competing in the regatta include No. 5 Tennessee, No. 14 Pennsylvania, No. 15 Duke, No. 17 Alabama, No. 24 USC, No. 25 UCLA, Iowa, and Minnesota.
The Rocky Top Invite marks the first of five regattas for Clemson this spring. Following this weekend, the Tigers will travel to the Orlando Invite and the Lake Wheeler Invitational before traveling to the ACC Championships. Clemson will then look ahead to postseason competition at the NCAA Championships to close out the 2026 season.
Saturday morning's semifinals will be seeded based on results from Friday's heats. There will be two finals heats in each race. The top final will feature the top two from each semifinal and the next fastest boat, while the consolation final will have the remaining crews.
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SCHEDULE
Friday
3:00 p.m. – 3V8 Heat 1
3:10 p.m. – 3V8 Heat 2
3:20 p.m. – 3V4 Heat 1*
3:30 p.m. – 3V4 Heat 2
3:40 p.m. – 2V4 Heat 1
3:50 p.m. – 2V4 Heat 2*
4:00 p.m. – 1V4 Heat 1*
4:10 p.m. – 1V4 Heat 2
4:20 p.m. – 2V8 Heat 1*
4:30 p.m. – 2V8 Heat 2
4:40 p.m. – 1V8 Heat 1*
4:50 p.m. – 1V8 Heat 2
* Denotes a race featuring Tennessee
Saturday
Semifinals
8:00 a.m. – 1V8 Semifinal 1
8:08 a.m. – 1V8 Semifinal 2
8:16 a.m. – 2V8 Semifinal 1
8:24 a.m. – 2V8 Semifinal 2
8:32 a.m. – 1V4 Semifinal 1
8:40 a.m. – 1V4 Semifinal 2
8:48 a.m. – 2V4 Semifinal 1
8:56 a.m. – 2V4 Semifinal 2
9:04 a.m. – 3V4 Semifinal 1
9:12 a.m. – 3V4 Semifinal 2
9:20 a.m. – 3V8 Semifinal 1
9:28 a.m. – 3V8 Semifinal 2
Finals
11:54 a.m. – 3V8 Final 2
12:02 p.m. – 3V8 Final 1
12:10 p.m. – 3V4 Final 2
12:18 p.m. – 3V4 Final 1
12:26 p.m. – 2V4 Final 2
12:34 p.m. – 2V4 Final 1
12:42 p.m. – 1V4 Final 2
12:50 p.m. – 1V4 Final 1
12:58 p.m. – 2V8 Final 2
1:06 p.m. – 2V8 Final 1
1:14 p.m. – 1V8 Final 2
1:22 p.m. – 1V8 Final 1