OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Clemson Tigers opened the 2026 spring season at the Rocky Top Invite this weekend on Melton Hill Lake, marking the program’s first competition of the year.
Clemson raced five boats across a full schedule of heats, semifinals and finals, gaining valuable early-season experience against a competitive field that included No. 5 Tennessee, No. 14 Pennsylvania, No. 15 Duke, No. 17 Alabama, No. 24 USC, No. 25 UCLA, Iowa, and Minnesota.
The Tigers were led by the Varsity Eight, which placed second in the 1V8 Final 2 with a time of 6:48.668, delivering Clemson’s top finish of the weekend. The Second Varsity Eight followed with a strong performance, finishing third in the 2V8 Final 2 in 6:53.507.
In the fours, Clemson added multiple podium finishes. The Second Varsity Four secured second place in the 2V4 Final 2 with a time of 7:53.823, while the Third Varsity Four also took second in the 3V4 Final 2 in 8:15.048.
“This weekend’s racing was a good initial look at where we are as a team,” said Head Coach Adrienne Martelli. “We went into it with the intention of trying to learn from each race and get better, which I think we accomplished in different ways across all boats. There was some really tight racing across a couple of events and it was awesome to see our team show a lot of grit in those moments, but there were also a few races where we could have found a bit more consistency. There’s still a lot of work to do and things to evaluate, but we’re fired up to get back to practice on Monday and start preparing for Orlando in two weeks.”
Clemson will return to action on April 17 at the Orlando Invite.
LINEUPS
1V8
Coxswain – Goldknopf
8 – Miller
7 – Mueller
6 – Ericsson
5 – Imbesi
4 – Dobson
3 – Greving
2 – Ream
Bow – Elizalde
2V8
Coxswain – Quallen
8 – Cochran
7 – Kavanagh
6 – Fernandez
5 – Riggio
4 – Upmeyer
3 – Hill
2 – Tarzian
Bow – Burke
1V4
Coxswain – Hampton
4 – Odeen
3 – Knight
2 – Nast
Bow – Hogan
2V4
Coxswain – derGarabedian
4 – Okopny
3 – Pitt
2 – Lee
Bow – White
3V4
Coxswain – Krez
4 – Kerr
3 – Duncomb
2 – Neal (Gannon for Saturday races)
Bow – Bonitatibus
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Friday
3:20 p.m. – 3V4 Heat 1- 4/4, 8:27.366
3:50 p.m. – 2V4 Heat 2- 4/4, 5:55.3
4:00 p.m. – 1V4 Heat 1- 4/4, 7:44.399
4:20 p.m. – 2V8 Heat 1- 4/4, 6:49.258
4:40 p.m. – 1V8 Heat 1- 4/4, 6:35.578
Saturday
Semifinals
8:00 a.m. – 1V8 Semifinal 1- 3/4, 6:20.653
8:16 a.m. – 2V8 Semifinal 1- 4/4, 6:48.727
8:32 a.m. – 1V4 Semifinal 1- 3/4, 7:37.252
8:56 a.m. – 2V4 Semifinal 2- 4/4, 7:52.988
9:04 a.m. – 3V4 Semifinal 1- 4/4, 8:06.087
Finals
12:10 p.m. – 3V4 Final 2- 2/2, 8:15.048
12:26 p.m. – 2V4 Final 2- 2/3, 7:53.823
12:42 p.m. – 1V4 Final 2- 4/4, 7.56.742
12:58 p.m. – 2V8 Final 2- 3/4, 6:53.507
1:14 p.m. – 1V8 Final 2- 2/4, 6:48.668