Varsity Eight Earns Second ACC Weekly Honor

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CHARLOTTESVILLE After a 3-0 weekend that included the South/Central Regional Championship and a victory over No. 3 Michigan State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 10 Clemson, the Virginia Varsity Eight has been named ACC Crew of the Week.

Virginia, ranked No. 11 entering the regional, returned to Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and won its preliminary heat, semifinal and grand final races. The crew of coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips and Victoria Burke finished with a time of 6:03.2 in the grand final, defeating four higher-ranked opponents to claim victory.

Virginia’s victory in the Varsity Eight, along with wins in the Second Varsity Eight and Novice Eight races, secured its sixth South/Central Regional Championship in the last seven years.

This is the second ACC Crew of the Week honor for Virginia’s Varsity Eight, as it also earned the honor on April 28. Virginia’s Second Varsity Eight won the award on March 31 after defeating Clemson, UCLA and Stanford.

The teams earning a berth to the 2009 NCAA Rowing Championships, being held May 29-31 in Cherry Hill, N.J., will be announced Tuesday, May 19 at 5 p.m.