Tigers’ Novice 8+ and Second Varsity 4+ Boats Advance to Grand Finals of the South Region Championships

May 18, 2002

Oak Ridge, TN – The Clemson rowing team’s novice 8+ and second varsity 4+ qualified for the grand finals of the South Region Championships to be held Sunday. Clemson’s first varsity 4+, second varsity 8+ and first varsity 8+ advance to the petite finals of the South Region Championships.

In the novice 8+ race, Clemson finished fourth in the morning heat with a time 7:30.0. The fourth place finish advanced the boat to the repechage race where the Tigers sprinted from behind in third place to win the race with a time of 7:00.9. Clemson edged second-placed Michigan State by .6 seconds to win the race, which qualified the Tigers for the grand finals. Eastern Michigan finished third with a time of 7:01.6, while Cincinnati completed the course in 7:53.6.

Clemson’s second varsity 4+ also qualified for the grand finals to be held on Sunday. The second varsity 4+ finished fourth in the morning heat with a time of 8:36.7. The Tigers raced in the repechage race in the afternoon. Clemson posted a second-place finish in the second varsity 4+ race with a time of 8:08.04. Notre Dame won the race with a time of 8:01.6 and Iowa finished third in 8:11.6. Cincinnati clocked in at 8:17.6.

The first varsity 4+ boat finished sixth in the morning heat, which advanced the boat to the afternoon repechage race. Clemson finished fifth in the afternoon repechage race with a time of 8:06.9. Texas won the race with a time of 7:34.4. Ohio State finished second in 7:38.8, Notre Dame finished third with a time of 7:45.1, Miami crossed the finish line fourth with a time of 8:06.1 and Kansas State finished sixth in 8:07.0.

In the second varsity 8+ race, the Tigers advanced to the petite final with a fourth-place finish in the semifinal race. Clemson completed the course with a time of 7:06.0. Ohio State won the race with a time of 6:53.1, while Wisconsin finished second in 6:55.8. Iowa posted a third-place finish with a time of 6:57.5, Kansas State finished fifth in 7:11.3, and Tennessee clocked in at 7:11.7.

The Tigers’ varsity 8+ boat qualified for the petite finals on Sunday. In the morning heat, the first varsity 8+ boat finished fourth with a time of 6:48.5, which advanced the boat to the semifinal race in the afternoon. Clemson finished fourth in the semifinal race with a time of 6:41.2. The Tigers defeated fifth-place Minnesota (6:41.6) by .4 seconds. Michigan won the semifinal race with a time of 6:33.5, while Michigan State finished second in 6:34.0. Texas completed the course in 6:32.9 and Kansas State crossed the finish line in 6:50.9.

“It was very windy and cold today, but despite that the Tigers had aggressive racing,” said head coach Susie Lueck. “We are looking forward to the finals tomorrow.”