March 18, 2005

SUMMERTON, S.C. - The North Carolina rowing team saw its first competition of the spring on Friday with a scrimmage against Army and Rensselaer on Lake Marion. The Tar Heels swept their opponents to wrap Spring Break training in South Carolina.

"We were definitely excited to sweep the race," UNC coach Sarah Haney said. "We had a good spring training and got a lot faster. It's good to see we could race on really tired legs and still come out ahead. We feel good about where we are."

The teams rowed set pieces with varying lengths and base ratings. Racing began with a four-minute piece at a base rating of 26, followed by a three-minute piece at a 28 base rating, two minutes at a 30 rating and a minute at 32. Carolina's "A" boat, the varsity eight, won all four races in the first progression.

The second set of races was the same except for the last segment, which was two minutes this time around, the first minute at 32 and the second at an open rating. This time, Carolina's "B" boat, the second varsity eight, took the first and fourth races and UNC varsity eight won the other two.

The varsity eight lineup consisted of coxswain Terry McCloskey, Lisy McIntee, Cleo Washington, Maegan Wareham, Adriann Spinks, Christin Cotten, Jess Ziebell, Michelle Hall and Julie Domina

The second varsity eight was made up of coxswain Lauren Portnow, Christina Payne, Laura Rock, Beth Robinson, Emily Dondero, Lucy Barrios, Gretchen Klatte, Clara Leigh and Emily Glunz.

The novice squad also gained valuable experience from the racing. The lineup for the novice eight was was Tiffany Pierce (coxswain), Anna DeLoach, Reine Duffy, Hannah Early, Devin Hudson, Sarah Norris, Joyce Warrick, Lauren Eney and Megan Mitzel.

"This was a good opportunity for our novice eight to practice race intensity against another crew," novice coach Laura Baylor said. "We had some pieces where we fought hard and we learned some things we need to work on before our next race."

UNC opens the season next Saturday, March 26, at Georgetown. The Tar Heels will race the host Hoyas and Indiana on the Potomac River.