Tiger Rowing Concludes Fall Season at the Head of the Hooch

November 2, 2008

Chattanooga, TN – The Clemson rowing team traveled Chattanooga, Tennessee to compete in the Head of the Hooch this weekend. The Tigers had a great showing, with four boats finishing first in their respective races. They accumulated 338 points as a team, making the Tigers the highest scoring college team at the regatta. Clemson also came away with the Schlachter Cup, which is awarded to the highest scoring ACC team at the Head of the Hooch.

The weekend of competition got off to a good start for the Tigers on Saturday morning with the Novice 8+ race. Two novice crews competed for Clemson in their first collegiate race with one crew finishing in second place and the other in tenth. The Tigers got a strong performance from their Varsity 8+ crew, who finished in first place in the Championship 8+ race with a time of 16:18.7. The winning crew consisted of Brittany Cummings, Megan Bendik, Liz Robb, Kelly Murphy, Stefanie Kozuszek, Hilary Cumbest, and coxswain Meredith Razzolini. Clemson entered two other boats in the race including the Second Varsity 8+, who finished in fifth place with a time of 16:58.9. The Third Varsity 8+ finished in 17:22.6 and placed 14th.

Allison Colberg and Brittany Robinson competed in the Championship 2X race and finished in 14th place with a time of 17:22.6.

The Tigers entered a boat in the Novice 4+ race and finished with a time of 21:18.1. The Tigers brought home another first-place finish in the Championship 4+. Leidecker, Nance, Cummings, Cumbest and Razzolini crossed the finish line in 18:08.2 to capture the victory. Also competing in the Championship 4+ race were the Second Varsity 4+ and the Third Varsity 4+. The 2V4+ team finished fourth with a time of 18:30.1, while the 3V4+ had a time of 19:14.6 and finished 12th.

Clemson volunteer assistant coach Erin Burton placed first in the Championship 1X race with a time of 20:42.4 on Sunday morning.

Also on Sunday, four boats raced in the Open 2- competition for the Tigers. Leidecker and Nance finished in first place with a time of 19:25.3. Cumbest and Cummings were not far behind in third place with a time of 19:39..7. Finishing in fifth place were Bendik and Robb, while Murphy and Kozuszek finished in 11th place.

In the final race of the weekend, the Tigers entered four boats in the Open 8+ competition. The crew of Corey Geer, Mairi Trimboli, Jenn Agee, Leah Kelly, Nicole Rau, Connie Gorman, Grace Wolff, Colberg and coxswain Andrea Belbusti finished first with a time of 16:51.7. Clemson also had a boat come in third with a time of 17:17.2. In addition, the Tigers had boats that finished in fifth and eighth place in this race.

The Head of the Hooch marked the final competition of the fall season for the Tigers. They will begin their spring season on February 20 with a scrimmage against Brock on Lake Hartwell.

“It was a solid effort by all crews and a great way to end the fall. The Varsity was able to win all the sweep events entered. This included the Championship 8+, 4+, Open 8+ and 2-. It was good to see that we are capable of moving a variety of boats and feel that it is essential for success. The novice program had a solid performance just missing out of a victory by .7 of a second,” said Head Coach Richard Ruggieri.

“With the fall season completed it is now time to look towards the future. Goals have been set and instead of talking about them we will go to work in search of greater speed, fitness and depth. I am proud of what this team has done in just over a year and expect a high level of effort to achieve greater success.”