Tiger Rowing Competes Against Central Florida & North Carolina

April 1, 2006

The Clemson rowing team competed against Central Florida and North Carolina on Saturday at Lake Hartwell. The Golden Knights of UCF took home first-place finishes in four events, with the Tigers earning runner-up spots in all four. The races took place on what turned out to be a sunny morning in front of a good crowd of fans.

“It was a great turnout of fans for our Solid Orange regatta,” said Susie Lueck, head coach at Clemson. “The weather cooperated and the races ran well. We were disappointed in our races, but were able to identify some areas that we can improve over the next two weeks. Central Florida came with their ‘A’ game and were great competitors. I am glad they came up to race.”

In the varsity 8+ race, UCF raced to an open water lead by the 1000m mark, while Clemson held the same advantage over North Carolina. In the last 500 meters of the race, UCF continued to cruise to what turned out to be a 1 1/2 boat length win of open water. The Golden Knights set a fast pace with a time of 6:34.6, while Clemson followed at 6:45.8.

The Knights claimed the second varsity 8+ race with a time of 6:57.0, holding off a strong Clemson sprint. The Tigers’ crew finished in 6:58.9. By the 500m mark, UCF’s coxswain was on Clemson’s bow seat. At 1000m, UCF continued to hold a steady lead, while Clemson had claimed open water over the Tar Heels. In the final sprint, Clemson really came on strong and gave it a great effort but Central Florida claimed the narrow victory by about three seats. It was the best race of the morning and one of the best Lake Hartwell has seen this spring.

The novice 8+ from UCF got off to a strong start, opening up a four-seat cushion of open water over Clemson at 500m. By 1000m, UCF had extended its lead to a boat length. Heading into the final 500m, the lead reached two boat lengths of open water. Central Florida finished in a time of 7:23.5, while Clemson came in at 7:38.1. North Carolina did not compete in the novice 8+ or varsity 4+ races.

UCF also was strong at the start of the varsity 4+. The Golden Knights held two seats of open water over Clemson at the 500m mark and pushed its lead to as much as 1 1/2 boat lengths at the 1500m mark. UCF finished with a time of 7:56.7, while Clemson came home in 8:10.9.

The Tigers will have a week off next Saturday after five straight weeks of competition to begin the spring season. Clemson will return to action on Saturday, April 15 to take on Stanford, UCLA, and Washington State on the West Coast. The next home regatta is the ACC Championships, which are set for April 22.