April 8, 2006

Complete Results

RALEIGH, N.C. - The North Carolina rowing team raced on familiar water close to home Saturday when it partnered with Duke to host the eight-team Lake Wheeler Invitational. Because of stormy weather in the area, the action was condensed into the morning, instead of the planned morning and afternoon sessions.

Two heats and grand and petite finals were contested in the varsity eights, second varsity eights and varsity fours, while the novice eights, second novice eights, novice fours and second varsity fours raced finals only. In addition to UNC and Duke, the field included Bucknell, Eastern Michigan, George Washington, Navy, Southern Methodist and Tulsa.

"We feel really good about the day overall - everything went really well," UNC coach Sarah Haney said. "We were happy to see all the parents and it was alumni weekend as well, so we got to see a lot of alums. Overall, it was a good day."

In varsity racing, UNC finished fourth overall (one spot ahead of the team's seed) in the varsity eight and fifth overall (equal to the seeding) in the second varsity eight. "Both boats had seat-for-seat races all the way down the course for 2,000 meters and they both came away with some pretty positive things from that and confidence boosters just from being able to pull out ahead in those situations," Haney said. "Both boats were able to keep their composure and do what they needed to do to put their boat ahead, so I was really proud of them."

Racing in the varsity eight were Lauren Portnow (coxswain), Gretchen Klatte, Laura Chase McGehee, Maegan Wareham, Lisy McIntee, Christin Cotten, Adriann Spinks, Laura Rock and Emily Dondero.

In the second varsity eight were Edythe McNamee (coxswain), Sarah Low, Megan Mitzel, Eugenia Delbono, Cleo Washington, Mary Ford, Lucy Barrios, Chelsea Barth and Reine Duffy.

UNC `s highest finish of the day came from the novice eight, which finished first in its four-boat final. The Tar Heels trailed for most of the race and finally pulled ahead for good with about 100 meters to go. Carolina's second novice eight was second in a two-boat field. "The novice eight had an amazing race," novice coach Stephen Arthur-Wong said. "It was definitely their best race of the year. The second novice eight had its best race as well - with a brand new lineup, they beat the time we had set as a goal."

Racing in the novice eight were Shannon Wilson (coxswain), Ruby Woodside, Chandler Sours, Elizabeth Marx, Emily Williams, Meredith Brown, Katie Wood, Kayla Hackett and Lisette Yorke.

In the second novice eight were Melinda Bowman (coxswain), Maeghan Sill, Autumn Carroll, Rebecca Aubry, Mary Sasson, Heather Wensil, Eleanor Saunders, Hayley Thompson and Kathryn Winz.

UNC returns to action next week, racing on Friday and Saturday at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Lake Wheeler Invitational results:

Varsity 8+
Heat A: 1. Duke 6:48.2; 2. GWU 6:51.8; 3. SMU 7:00.5; 4. Tulsa 7:01.1
Heat B: 1. Navy 6:57.9; 2. UNC 6:58.2; 3. EMU 6:59.8

Second Varsity 8+
Heat A: 1. Bucknell 7:04.7; 2. Navy 7:07.0; 3. GWU 7:11.9; 4. SMU 7:15.0
Heat B: 1. Duke 7:04.9; 2. EMU 7:07.8; 3. Tulsa 7:17.4; 4. UNC 7:21.4

Varsity 8+
Petite Final: 1. SMU 7:01.9; 2. EMU 7:04.4; 3. Tulsa 7:16.3
Grand Final: 1. Duke 6:43.0; 2. GWU 6:48.2; 3. Navy 6:52.7; 4. UNC 7:03.8

Second Varsity 8+
Petite Final: 1. UNC 7:12.7; 2. GWU 7:13.0; 3. Tulsa 7:39.2; 4. SMU DNP
Grand Final: 1. Navy 6:58.2; 2. Bucknell 7:03.4; 3. EMU 7:04.7; 4. Duke 7:09.7

Varsity 4+
Heat A: 1. Bucknell 7:50.0; 2. Navy 7:57.5; 3. GWU 8:04.5
Heat B: 1. Duke 8:00.9; 2. EMU 8:52.8

Novice 8+
Final: 1. UNC 7:10.3; 2. GWU 7:13.5; 3. Navy 7:15.7; 4. Bucknell 7:45.2

Varsity 4+
Petite Final: 1. GWU 8:15.6; 2. EMU 9:01.2
Grand Final: 1. Bucknell 7:48.3; 2. Navy 7:54.6; 3. Duke 8:07.3

Second Varsity 4+
Final: 1. Navy 8:23.7; 2. Bucknell 8:28.8; 3. Duke 8:36.2

Second Novice 8+
Final: 1. Navy 7:22.8; 2. UNC 7:35.9

Novice 4+
Final: 1. EMU 8:02.3; 2. Tulsa 8:31.6