May 17, 2003

Complete Preliminary Heats Results (PDF Format)
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Complete Semfinals Results (PDF Format)
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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - North Carolina's varsity eight posted its fastest times of the season Saturday in the first day of women's rowing competition at the Lexus Central/South Region Sprints on Lake Melton. The Carolina varsity eight and novice eight, the only two UNC boats competing, both advanced to spots in Sunday's C finals.

The Tar Heels have battled bad weather throughout their time in Tennessee. Thursday's practice was cancelled because of a tornado in the area and Saturday's racing schedule was altered by thunderstorms. The UNC varsity eight's first heat was scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday but didn't go off until 10:45. Carolina finished fourth of five boats to gain a spot in the C/D semifinal along with other teams that were not in the top three in their respective heats. (Teams finishing in the top three competed in the A/B semifinals.)

UNC's fourth-place time of 6:42.6, behind Duke (6:38.9) and ahead of Cincinnati (6:52.3), was the team's best of the season and the fastest of the nine boats that advanced into the C/D semifinals. "We felt very good abound the race," UNC coach Sarah Haney said. "Our goal was to hold onto Duke as long as we could and to beat Cincinnati, and we did both of those things."

Because of thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon, the racing schedule was shortened and the varsity eight headed back out on the water for its semifinal less than an hour after its heat. In the four-boat semifinal, Carolina finished second in a time of 6:49.7. Joining UNC in Sunday's varsity eight C final, scheduled for 10:50 a.m., are Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Kansas State, Louisville and Southern Methodist.

"Considering the weather, the schedule changes and the competition here, I think we performed well, especially in our first race," Haney said.

The UNC novice eight finished fifth in its heat Saturday morning with a time of 7:06.6 and advanced directly to Sunday's novice eight C final, scheduled for 11:20 a.m. (In the novice eight racing, the top four teams in each of the three heats advanced to Saturday afternoon's semifinals, while the fifth and sixth-place teams went straight to Sunday's C final.)

"They raced the best race they could and came off the water feeling good about what they did," said UNC novice coach Laura Fogt. "Our goal was to advance to the semifinals and we didn't do that, but there's a lot of tough competition here this weekend and it was good for us to see where we are and how we stack up."

North Carolina Varsity 8
Lineup: Terry McCloskey (coxswain), Rebecca Bennett, Lauren Tarabokia, Jenny Cox, Grace Wallenborn, Michelle Hall, Jess Ziebell, Sarah Stargel, Julie Domina

Preliminary Heat: 1. Ohio State (6:28.4); 2. Texas (6:31.2); 3. Duke (6:38.9); 4. UNC (6:42.6); 5. Cincinnati (6:52.3)
C/D Semifinal: 1. Cincinnati (6:47.9); 2. UNC (6:49.7); 3. Louisville (6:53.6); 4. Indiana (6:57.4)

UNC advances to C final Sunday at 10:50 a.m.

North Carolina Novice 8
Lineup: Lauren Portnow (coxswain), Kristin McPhillips, Clara Leigh, Emily Dondero, Susan Fisk, Laura Haythorn, Claire Bramble, Amanda Snow, Stephanie Hoffmann

Preliminary Heat: 1. Indiana (6:50.7); 2. Michigan (6:52.5); 3. Notre Dame (6:55.1); 4. Tennessee (6:59.2); 5. UNC (7:06.6); 6. SMU (7:31.5)

UNC advances to C final Sunday at 11:20 a.m.