April 15, 2000

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.-After a mostly-successful Saturday of racing at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, the University of North Carolina rowing team now turns it attention toward Sunday's finals.

"We're looking forward to great racing tomorrow," UNC coach Joel Furtek said at the end of Saturday afternoon's semifinals. "I think we'll be seeing races in which there are two or three crews within a couple of seconds and the race is decided in the last 20 or so strokes. That's exactly why we're here and it's and what makes this weekend so much fun."

The varsity eight led the way for UNC, powering into the finals with two wins on Saturday. The first came in the morning heats race, which Carolina claimed in a time of 7:07.6, ahead of Tennessee, Barry, Cincinnati and Marquette. The victory moved the Tar Heels along to the afternoon's semifinal, where they faced off against Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, Barry and Marietta.

In that race, Carolina jumped out to an early lead of six to eight seats with a strong push through the first 750 meters and finished with the winning time of 7:17.9 into a very strong headwind. Notre Dame made a late dash to finish in 7:19.1 and Purdue was third in 7:29.6.

In Sunday's final, which is scheduled for 10:15 a.m., the Tar Heels will take on other semifinal winners Tulsa, Clemson and Jacksonville, as well as Notre Dame and Purdue.

"The varsity eight put in two good performances today," Furtek said. "The morning race was not very good technically, but we were able to refocus and did a better job in the second race. In that one, we did an outstanding job of getting out front and controlling the race."

The second varsity eight finished second in its morning heat to qualify for Sunday's finals. (There are no semifinal races for second varsity eights.) The Tar Heels took an early lead and had stretched the advantage to a boat length by the 500-meter mark, but did not respond quickly enough to a strong charge by Notre Dame, which went on to win the race. "We got caught off guard in that race, but know what we can do better," Furtek said. "We have a few technical and tactical points to work on and definitely feel we'll be in contention for the championship tomorrow. "

The field for Sunday's second varsity eight final, which is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., also will include Tulsa, Central Florida, Clemson, Notre Dame and Purdue.

The UNC novice eight finished third in its morning heat and sixth in the afternoon semifinal to earn a spot in Sunday's petite final at 8:55 a.m., racing for places seven through 12.

"The novices struggled some today, but they're learning a lot," Furtek said. "I look forward to seeing them race hard again on Sunday.

"All of our athletes put in a strong effort today. It was a good day of racing for us."