No. 3 Virginia Rowing Seeks Fourth-Consecutive South/Central Regional Championship

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The third-ranked and ACC Champion Virginia rowing team travels to Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the South/Central Regional Championships on Saturday (May 15) and Sunday (May 16). Competition is held at Melton Lake and is hosted by the South Region’s University of Tennessee.

Three titles are up for grabs this weekend, as a South Region Champion, a Central Region Champion and an overall South/Central Region Champion will be crowned. Virginia competes in the South Region, which the Cavaliers have won six times in the last seven years (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009). UVa also claimed the overall team title last year in Oak Ridge, its fifth South/Central Regional Championship in the last six seasons (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009). Michigan claimed the Central Region Championship in 2009 and finished second to Virginia in the combined team standings.

In addition to its two team titles last season, Virginia was also victorious in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Novice Eight races.

This season, the Cavaliers’ Varsity Eight has a 7-1 record heading into the regional championship. In its last two outings, the crew of coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Katrin Reinert, Desiree Burns, Kristine O’Brien, Martha Kuzzy, Helen Tompkins, Nora Phillips and Summers Nelson defeated Penn on the Rivanna Reservoir (May 1) and claimed the ACC Championship in its event (April 24).

UVa’s Varsity Eight was named the ACC’s Crew of the Year following the conference championship, and first-year member Kristine O’Brien garnered ACC Rookie of the Year honors. Crew members Cromwell, Burns, Phillips, Tompkins and Thorsten were also named to the All-ACC squad.

The Cavaliers’ sole defeat of the season in the Varsity Eight came at the hands of second-ranked Princeton (April 17), where the Tigers claimed first place with a time of 6:23.5 on their home course, compared to UVa’s time of 6:27.4.

In the Second Varsity Eight, the Cavaliers hold a 6-1 record on the season. Crew members Cristine Candland (coxswain), Victoria Burke, Lauren Shook, Keziah Beall, Sarah Borchelt, Lauren Hutchins, Christine Roper, Claudia Blandford and Inge Janssen defeated Penn in their last outing. Similar to the Varsity Eight, Virginia’s 2V8 has lost just one race all year – at Princeton.

Virginia’s Varsity Four, with its various line-ups throughout the year, has not dropped a race and has a 5-0 record. In addition to winning the ACC Championship, the V4 was named ACC Crew of the Week on April 20 after defeating Princeton and Yale.

Virginia will also send a Novice Eight to the South/Central Regional Championships. Virginia’s N8 won the ACC Championship on April 24.

Schools competing in the South Region include: No. 3 Virginia, No. 15 Clemson, No. 16 Tennessee, UCF, Louisville, Texas, Miami, Alabama and Duke.

Schools competing in the Central Region include: No. 9 Michigan State, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 13 Michigan, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 19 Notre Dame, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, SMU, Eastern Michigan, Tulsa, Dayton and Oklahoma.

Looking ahead, the teams earning a berth to the 2010 NCAA Rowing Championships, held May 28-30 at Sacramento State Aquatic Center, will be announced on Tuesday, May 18 at 5 p.m.

2010 South/Central Regional Championships
May 15, 2010
Preliminaries Schedule

Open Four – 1-3 to A/B Semifinal; 4-6 to C/D Semifinal
9:00 1 Oklahoma 2 Tennessee ‘A’ 3 Virginia ‘A’ 4 Ohio State 5 Notre Dame ‘B’
9:10 1 Indiana 2 Virginia ‘C’ 3 Wisconsin 4 Notre Dame ‘A’ 5 Alabama
9:20 1 Kansas 2 Texas 3 Michigan State 4 Michigan 5 UCF 6 Tulsa ‘B’
9:30 1 Tennessee ‘B’ 2 Iowa 3 Virginia ‘B’ 4 Clemson 5 Tulsa ‘A’ 6 Dayton

Novice Eight – 1st to A Final; Rest to Repechages
9:40 0 Kansas 1 Oklahoma 2 Notre Dame 3 Wisconsin ‘A’ 4 Michigan State 5 Alabama 6 Tennessee
9:50 0 Kansas State 1 Wisconsin ‘B’ 2 Indiana 3 Virginia 4 Michigan 5 Ohio State 6 UCF

Varsity Four – 1-3 to A/B Semifinal; 4-6 to C/D Semifinal
10:00 1 Oklahoma 2 Tennessee 3 Virginia 4 Minnesota 5 Indiana
10:10 1 Louisville 2 Texas 3 Wisconsin 4 Ohio State 5 Kansas
10:20 1 Kansas State 2 UCF 3 Clemson 4 Michigan 5 Tulsa
10:30 1 SMU 2 Iowa 3 Michigan State 4 Notre Dame 5 Alabama 6 Eastern Michigan

Second Varsity Eight – 1-3 to A/B Semifinal; 4-6 to C/D Semifinal
10:40 1 Oklahoma 2 Minnesota 3 Wisconsin 4 Notre Dame 5 Duke
10:50 1 Tulsa 2 Iowa 3 Virginia 4 Clemson 5 Kansas
11:00 1 Alabama 2 Texas 3 Michigan 4 Michigan State 5 Louisville 6 Eastern Michigan
11:10 1 Kansas State 2 UCF 3 Ohio State 4 Tennessee 5 Indiana 6 SMU

Varsity Eight – 1-3 to A/B Semifinal; 4-6 to C/D Semifinal
11:20 1 Alabama 2 Iowa 3 Virginia 4 Notre Dame 5 Duke 6 Eastern Michigan
11:30 1 Tulsa 2 Louisville 3 Michigan State 4 Clemson 5 Indiana 6 Dayton
11:40 1 Kansas State 2 Minnesota 3 Wisconsin 4 Michigan 5 UCF 6 SMU
11:50 1 Miami 2 Texas 3 Tennessee 4 Ohio State 5 Oklahoma 6 Kansas