Virginia Wins Sixth Consecutive ACC Championship

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May 16, 2015

Clemson, S.C. – The No. 3 Virginia rowing team swept all five races on the way to winning its sixth consecutive ACC Championship Saturday on Lake Hartwell. The Cavaliers have won 15 of the 16 ACC regattas.

Virginia finished with 99 points followed by Notre Dame (82), Syracuse (73), Louisville (72), Clemson (59), Boston College (37), Duke (36), North Carolina (22) and Miami (13).

“It was a great day for Virginia rowing,” said UVa head coach Kevin Sauer. “I’m just so proud of the kids. To come back here, and do it again, was an outstanding effort. They stepped up after doing a great job last night and came back today and did even better. From start to finish, you could not ask more of this team. They have done well on the water and also performed very well in the classroom. As a coach, I am very proud of their efforts.”

Virginia’s First Varsity Eight crew, which set an event record of 6:10.0 in Friday’s qualification heats, then followed that up a winning time of 6:21.3 in the Grand Finals on Saturday, was voted the ACC’s Crew of the Year. Virginia’s championship finals time also bettered the previous ACC mark in the event of 6:22.0, set by UVa in 2008.

The UVa First Varsity Eight is composed of coxswain Colette Lucas-Conwell (So., Palo Alto, Calif.); Stroke: Mackenzi Sherman (Jr., Loa Alamitos, Calif.); 7-Seat: Erin Briggs (So., Orono, Minn]; 6-Seat: Eliza Spilsbury (Fr., Centreville, Mass.); 5-Seat: Georgia Ratcliff (So., Falls Church, Va.); 4-Seat: Hemingway Benton (Sr., Glencoe, Ill.); 3-Seat: Lizzy Youngling (Sr. Westport, Conn.); 2-Seat: Sam Casto (Jr., Dallas, Pa.); Bow: Tessa Dikkers (Jr., Pellham N.Y.).

Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer was named by a vote of the ACC Coaches as the league’s Coach of the Year for the 11th time.

The Cavaliers got off to a strong start in the Third Varsity Eight finishing with a time of 6:37.0 to outdistance second place Louisville (6:43.7) and third-place Syracuse (6:50.0). The Virginia Third Varsity Eight is composed of coxswain Rachel Dick (Fr., Bethesda, Md.); Stroke: Taylor Leonard (So., Arlington, Va.); 7-Seat: Kaitlin Fanikos (Sr., Boston, Mass.); 6-Seat: Grace Tuttle (Jr., Vienna, Va.); 5-Seat: Allie Nicholson (So., Charlottesville, Va.); 4-Seat: Lyndsay Martini (So., Falls Church, Va.); 3-Seat: Morgan Rosts (Fr., Jordan, Ontario); 2-Seat: Kameryn Corcoran (So., Middletown, Md.); Bow: Paula Lewis (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.).

Virginia continued its winning ways in the Second Varsity Four, posting a time of 7:17.0 to defeat second place Louisville (7:30.6). The UVa Second Varsity Four crew is composed of coxswain Chloe Sykes (Sr., Ashburn, Va.); 4-Seat: Karen Schulte (So., Trout Run, Pa.); 3-Seat: Lexie Katz (Sr., Wayne, Pa.); 2-Seat: Jane Hudson (Fr., Sandy, Utah); Bow: Emmy Bateman (So., Stanwood, Wash.).

Virginia also captured the First Varsity Four race in a time of 7:12.3, downing second-place Notre Dame (7:18.1) by more than five seconds. The Virginia First Varsity Four crew is composed of Julia Roithmayr (Sr., Yorktown, Va.); 4-Seat: Maggie Bowman-Jones (Sr., Moss Beach, Calif.); 3-Seat: Marijane Brennan (So., Gross Pointe Farms, Mich.); 2-Seat: Hannah Solis-Cohen (Jr., New York, N.Y.); Bow: Ellen Pate (So., Lafayette, Calif.).

Virginia then took the title in the Second Varsity Eight, posting a time of 6:28.8 over second-place Louisville (6:33.3). The Virginia Second Varsity Eight crew is composed of coxswain Hayley LaFleche (Sr., New York, N.Y.); Stroke: Ali Zwicker (So., Victoria, British Columbia); 7-Seat: Anna Fairs (Fr., Thorpe Thewles, England); 6-Seat: Chandler Lally (Sr., Bryn Mawr, Pa.); 5-Seat: Chelsea Adams (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.); 4-Seat: Mackenzie Springer (Fr., Fairfax, Va.); 3-Seat: Jenny Reid (Jr., Stafford, Va.); 2-Seat: Kendall Mueller (Fr., Houston, Texas); Bow: Jo Gurman (So., Weston, Conn.).

Virginia placed four members on the All-ACC Rowing First Team. Lizzy Youngling, Hemingway Benton, Chandler Lally and coxswain Hayley LaFleche each earned All-ACC honors. Maggie Bowman-Jones was a second-team selection.

ACC Crew of the Year: Virginia First Varsity Eight

ACC Freshman of the Year: Julia Vander Hoeven, Syracuse

ACC Coach of the Year: Kevin Sauer, Virginia

All-ACC Rowing Team
First Team
Hayley LaFleche, Sr., Virginia (New York, N.Y.)
Lizzy Youngling, Sr., Virginia (Westport, Conn.)
Chandler Lally, Sr., Virginia (Bryn Mawr. Pa.)
Hemingway Benton, Sr., Virginia (Glencoe, Ill.)
Ailish Sheehan, Sr., Notre Dame (Kildare Co., Limerick, Ireland)
Joanna Mulvey, Jr., Notre Dame (Staatsburg, N.Y.)
Deidre Fitzpatrick, Jr., Syracuse (Chesire, Conn.)
Darya Marchanka, Sr., Louisville (Minsk, Belarus)
Samantha Duggan, Sr.,Clemson (Christchurch, New Zealand)

Second Team
Reilly Kearny, Fr., Notre Dame (San Mateo, Calif.)
Maggie Bowman-Jones, Sr., Virginia (Moss Beach, Calif.)
Chelsea Frawley, Fr., Syracuse (Melbourne, Australia)
Katie Nord, Jr., Louisville (Louisville, Ky.)
Milena Heuer, Jr., Clemson (Leer, Germany)
Ellen Burr, Sr., Boston College (Cazenovia, N.Y.)
Claire Vannelli, Sr.Duke (London, Ontario, Canada)
Victoria McGee, Jr., North Carolina (Kernersville, N.C.)
Caitlin White-Parsons, Jr., Miami (Auckland, New Zealand)

ACC Rowing Championship Results:

Team Results–1. Virginia, 99; 2. Notre Dame, 82; 3. Syracuse, 73; 4. Louisville, 72; 5. Clemson, 59; 6. Boston College, 37; 7. Duke, 36; 8. North Carolina, 22; 9. Miami, 13.

Third Varsity Eight Petite Final–1. North Carolina, 7:09.1; 2. Duke, 7:10.8.

Third Varsity Eight Grand Final–1. Virginia, 6:37.0; 2. Louisville, 6:43.7; 3. Syracuse, 6:50.0; 4. Notre Dame, 6:51.9; 5. Clemson, 7:05.3; 6. Boston College, 7:10.4.

Second Varsity Four Petite Final–1. North Carolina, 7:55.0; 2. Duke, 7:59.0.

Second Varsity Four Grand Final–1. Virginia, 7:17.0; 2. Louisville, 7:30.6; 3.Notre Dame, 7:32.0; 4. Syracuse, 7:33.4; 5. Clemson, 7:39.6; 6. Boston College, 7:47.6.

First Varsity Four Petite Final–1. North Carolina, 7:44.5; 2. Duke, 7:53.8; 3. Miami, 8:24.2.

First Varsity Four Grand Final–1. Virginia, 7:12.3; 2. Notre Dame, 7:18.1; 3. Syracuse, 7:20.4; 4. Louisville, 7:24.0; 5. Clemson, 7:30.9; 6. Boston College, 7:44.1.

Second Varsity Eight Petite Final–1. Boston College, 6:55.8; 2. North Carolina, 7:03.3; 3. Miami, 7:06.1.

Second Varsity Eight Grand Final–1. Virginia, 6:28.8; 2. Louisville, 6:33.3; 3. Notre Dame, 6:36.6; 4. Syracuse, 6:37.0; 5. Clemson, 6:42.7; 6. Duke, 6:44.9.

First Varsity Eight Petite Final–1. Boston College, 6:43.6; 2. Miami, 6:46.4; 3. North Carolina, 7:00.3.

First Varsity Eight Grand Final–1. Virginia, 6:21.3; 2. Notre Dame, 6:28.6; 3. Syracuse, 6:31.2; 4. Clemson, 6:33.1; 5. Louisville, 6:33.4; 6. Duke, 6:45.9.

Heat Results from Friday, March 15.
Quartering tail wind 1-5 mph with gusts to 7 mph growing progressively weaker throughout the afternoon.

Third Varsity Eight–Heat 1–1. Virginia, 6:25.3; 2. Notre Dame, 6:42.7; 3. Clemson, 6:56.7; 4. North Carolina, 7:04.5

Third Varsity Eight–Heat 2–1.Louisville, 6:37.1; 2. Syracuse, 6:39.7; 3. Boston College, 6:53.5; 4 Duke, 7:22.0.

Second Varsity Four–Heat 1–1. Virginia, 7:05.5; 2. Syracuse, 7:24.5; 3. Clemson, 7:32.0; 4. North Carolina, 7:46.4.

Second Varsity Four–Heat 2–1. Louisville, 7:19.6; 2. Notre Dame, 7:20.8; 3. Boston College, 7:35.4; 4. Duke, 7:58.0.

First Varsity Four–Heat 1–1. Virginia, 7:01.0; 2. Louisville, 7:12.2; 3. Clemson, 7:21.5; 4. North Carolina, 7:25.9; 5. Miami, 7:51.5.

First Varsity Four–Heat 2–1. Syracuse, 7:10.0; 2. Notre Dame, 7:12.4; 3. Boston College, 7:32.0; 4. Duke, 7:36.2

Second Varsity Eight–Heat 1–1, Virginia, 6:21.8; 2. Louisville, 6:29.4; 3. Clemson, 6:34.4; 4. North Carolina, 6:46.8; 5. Miami, 6:54.6.

Second Varsity Eight–Heat 2–1. Syracuse, 6:26.2; 2. Notre Dame, 6:30.0; 3. Duke, 6:33.9; 4. Boston College, 6:43.0.

First Varsity Eight–Heat 1–1.Virginia, 6:10.0; 2. Louisville, 6:21.9; 3. Clemson, 6:30.6; 4. Miami, 6:38.6.

First Varsity Eight–Heat 2–1. Syracuse, 6:15.8; 2. Notre Dame, 6:18.7; 3. Duke, 6:29.0; 4. Boston College, 6:34.0.