Rowing Competes at San Diego Crew Classic

April 1, 2000

SAN DIEGO, CA – The Clemson rowing team competed in the San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay on Saturday. The Tigers’ Varsity 8+ placed sixth in its heat of the Jessop-Whittier Cup race. #4 Washington won the heat in 6:43.6, followed by #3 California-Berkeley with a time of 6:49.63. Ninth-ranked Wisconsin was third with a time of 6:54.60, while #17 Oregon State placed fifth at 6:56.99. Eighth-ranked Michigan State finished fifth (7:02.04), and Clemson was sixth with a time of 7:09.98.

Clemson’s Second Varsity 8+ team placed third in its heat. Virginia won the heat in 7:02.28, and Washington State beat out the Tigers by three feet for second place with a time of 7:19.75. Clemson was third at 7:19.75, followed by Michigan State with a time of 7:22.25. Orange Coast Community College placed fifth (7:31.31), and California-Davis was sixth (7:35.60).

“We had great racing conditions,” said Clemson head coach Susie Lueck. “It was very exciting to race against some of the top teams in the country. We showed today that Clemson is an up-and-coming program. It was exciting to see that Clemson was so competitive against teams that have the full amount of scholarships, when the Tigers have none. The Second Varsity 8+ had an incredibly close finish with Washington State winning by three feet. The team is looking forward to a rematch in Lansing, MI, later this month.”

Lueck was a member of the winning team in the Masters A 8+ Joan of Arc race. The team, which consisted of coaches from Duke, Michigan, Wisconsin and Colorado, recorded a time of 7:31.75. Portland was second at 7:47.59, followed by UCLA with a time of 7:50.19. Lake Merrit placed fourth (8:03.07), and River City was fifth (8:04.28). Rocky Mountain placed sixth with a time of 8:19.28.

The Varsity 8+ will race in the petite final at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday. The Tigers will face Washington State, San Diego State, Duke, Oregon State and Michigan State. The Second Varsity 8+ team will race at 9:20 p.m. on Sunday in the petite final against Michigan State, Texas, Wisconsin, California-Berkeley and San Diego State.