Miami Wins Petite Final at ACC Championship
CLEMSON, S.C. — The University of Miami rowing team raced against its fellow conference members at the ACC Rowing Championships Sunday.
Five Hurricane boats competed on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. Both heats and finals were held on Sunday, with the heats beginning with the First Varsity Eight at 8:05 a.m. The finals started at 5:35 p.m., with the Second Varsity Four.
“Today was a tough day of racing for our team, but there were some bright spots along the way,” Miami head coach Dave Sanderson said. “Many of our novices felt they had some of their best strokes of the year, so I’m thrilled they finished the year on a positive note.”
Miami’s Varsity Eight won the Petite Final at the ACC Rowing Championship with a time of 6:37.071, beating Boston College and North Carolina. The Hurricanes’ top varsity boat narrowly missed a trip to the Grand Final, finishing fourth in Heat 2 with a time of 6:53.549 that was the sixth-fastest among the nine preliminary boats.
The Second Varsity Eight finished second in the Petite Final behind North Carolina with a time of 6:52.260. Miami’s 2V8+ was fourth in Heat 1 of its preliminary with a time of 7:08.140.
“The 1V and 2V started the day with strong performances that just fell a little short and they missed the grand finals by 1.2 and 1.6 seconds, respectively,” Sanderson said. “They were almost there. The 1V did a great job of coming back in the afternoon and winning the petite final with a strong row.”
The Hurricanes’ First Varsity Four placed third in the Petite Final behind Boston College and North Carolina with a time of 7:46.948. Miami finished fifth in its preliminary heat with a time of 8:13.543.
Miami’s Second Varsity Four finished third in the Petite Final behind Boston College and North Carolina with a time of 8:44.591. The Hurricanes placed fifth in Heat 1 of its preliminary with a time of 8:52.756.
The Canes’ Third Varsity Eight finished third in the Petite Final behind Duke and Boston College with a time of 7:19.226. The 3V8+ reached the Petite Final after it fifth in preliminary heat 1 with a time of 7:30.081.
Following the completion of racing, Miami junior Taegan Lynch was named to the 2017 All-ACC Rowing Second Team.
“There is no doubt the team has made some really positive improvements this year, so the results today are tough because they really don’t represent the accomplishments that the team has had this year,” Sanderson said. “But that’s championship racing. You simply have to rise to the occasion on the day. Next year really does start tomorrow and we’ll be looking for more speed. I’d also like to take the chance to recognize and thank our assistant coaches. Briana [Pittman], Claire [Frenkel] and Lindsay [Shoop] have been incredibly positive coaches and mentors for our student-athletes throughout the year. They have had a wonderful impact on the team.”
All the events of the Championship were streamed live by ACC Network Extra with Pete Yanity and Steve Pritzger providing the play-by-play and color analysis for the broadcast.
Miami Lineups
1V8+: Colleen Gillis (cox), Halle Alitz, Alex Gunner, Tessa White-Parsons, Taegan Lynch, Kristen Klein, Jane Moore, Alexa Aguilar, Cristina Salinas
2V8+: Lily Wittle (cox), Virginia Sideleva, Madeline Parente, Maren Gierlatowicz, Victoria Stewart, Alexandra Novo, Katarzyna Pasternak, Katelyn Cordero, Katie Robinson
3V8+: Ariannie Peña-Aleman (cox), Alex Ware, Hannah Dougherty, Tessa Rogari, Kayonne Markes, Julia Saltonstall, Kristen Bufkin, Marissa Williford, Laine Stern
1V4+: Nicole Rotkovitz (cox), Demetra Vlahos, Catherine Tayler, Tyler Harrison, Bridget Boland
2V4+: Karina Cepeda (cox), Lauren Wilson, Nichole Tatte, Tatiana Esparza, Madeline Martinez
For official updates and information please visit our website at HurricaneSports.com or “Like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/canesrowing. You can also “Follow” Miami rowing on Twitter at http://twitter.com/canesrowing. The program is also on Instagram.
