No. 1 Virginia Completes Competition at Oak Ridge Invitational

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OAK RIDGE, Tenn.-The No. 1 Virginia rowing team completed action at the Oak Ridge Invitational Sunday (March 18). The Cavaliers finished with 18 victories through the three-session regatta.

“Overall, it was a good weekend of racing,” head coach Kevin Sauer said. “We did some things well and learned a lot by going down the racecourse three times in 24 hours. Many thanks to Louisville coach Laura Aubrey and Oak Ridge for hosting this weekend.”

In the morning session on Saturday, Virginia defeated No. 18 Tennessee in all five races the two teams competed in. The first Varsity Eight won by over 18 seconds in a 2,000-meter time of 6:22.60, while the first Varsity Four finished over 11 seconds ahead of the Lady Vols in 7:10.50.

In the second Varsity Eight, UVa won by almost six seconds in a time of 6:30.00, while the second Varsity Four was victorious over UT by nine and a half seconds in 7:15.40. In that same race, UVa’s fourth Varsity Four finished third in a time of 7:43.70.

UVa’s Novice Eight finished in a time of 6:48.20, defeating Kansas by over 12 seconds and Tennessee by over 18. In addition, Virginia’s third Varsity Four took down Notre Dame’s second Varsity Four by over nine seconds in a time of 7:33.60.

In the afternoon session on Saturday, the Cavaliers again won six races, including the first V8 that defeated Louisville and Jacksonville by over 12 seconds in 6:18.10. In the first V4, UVa crossed the finish in a time of 7:01.60.

In the second V8, UVa was victorious in 6:31.38, almost 12 seconds faster than Louisville and over 28 seconds better than Buffalo. Virginia’s second V4 won its race in a time of 7:07.80. The third V4 finished second in the piece with a time of 7:20. Both boats finished ahead of Notre Dame’s third V4.

The Cavaliers won the Novice Eight over Tennessee and Louisville by more than 22 seconds in a time of 6:50.30. In a battle of fourth V4s, UVa defeated Notre Dame in a time of 7:36.50, 1.97 faster than the Fighting Irish.

On Sunday, the first Varsity Eight earned its third victory of the weekend in a time of 6:14.50, over eight seconds faster than Duke and Minnesota. UVa’s first Varsity Four crossed the finish line in 7:06.80, while the second V8 (6:32.40) and second V4 (7:17.70) picked up wins over the Blue Devils and Golden Gophers. The Novice Eight (6:38.80) claimed a victory over Duke and Kansas by over 11 seconds.

The fourth V4 was victorious over Notre Dame’s fourth V4 in 7:51.60, while the third Varsity Four finished in 7:21.17, only five seconds behind Tennessee’s second V4.

“Our fours had some reasonable times this weekend, but obviously we have a ways to go,” associate head coach Steve Pritzker said. “We hope that the competitive environment we have on our team will continue to prepare us for the challenge of the season.”

The Cavaliers return to action on Saturday (March 24) at 1 p.m., for a scrimmage against Old Dominion at the Rivanna Reservoir.

Virginia Lineups

First Varsity Eight: Coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Keziah Beall, Martha Kuzzy, Kristine O’Brien, Sarah Cowburn, Brandy Herald, Susanne Grainger, Morgan Joseph, Kaitlin Fanikos

Second Varsity Eight: Coxswain Cristine Candland, Hemingway Benton, Sarah Borchelt, Fiona Schlesinger, Lizzy Youngling, Jenny Shultis, Marelle Myers, Maddie Keating, Cara Linnenkohl

First Varsity Four (Saturday and Sunday morning): Coxswain Molly Frear, Ruth Retzinger, MacKenzie Leahy, Elle Murray, Kaity McCullough

First Varsity Four (Saturday afternoon): Coxswain Sarah Jordan, Ruth Retzinger, Kaity McCullough, Chelsea Simpson, Hunter Terry

Second Varsity Four (Saturday and Sunday morning): Coxswain Sarah Jordan, Carolyn Glandorf, Hunter Terry, Chelsea Simpson, Emily Pik

Second Varsity Four (Saturday afternoon): Coxswain Molly Frear, Elle Murray, MacKenzie Leahy, Carolyn Glandorf, Emily Pik

Third Varsity Four: Coxswain Sarah Shanfield, Liza Tullis, Francesca Lauritano, Betsy Nilan, Ann Reid

Fourth Varsity Four: Coxswain Camille Hochheimer, Mary Nilan, Ashley Hendrickson, Lexie Katz, Anna Kobayashi

Novice Eight: Coxswain Hayley LaFleche, Chloe Carry, Andie McPartland, Katie Hillson, Hannah Yoest, Veronica Jones, Caroline Burke, Emily Crump, Julia Truelove