May 15, 2004

Clemson's Novice 8+ highlighted three crews advancing to the A Finals and defeated Virginia in spring sprint racing for the first time as the Tigers competed in the 2004 Lexus Central/South Region Sprints on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, TN on Saturday. The Open 4 and Varsity 4+ also advanced to the A Finals on Sunday.

"It was an exciting day of racing," said head coach Susie Lueck. "We showed a lot of heart out there and did a great job fighting through adversity, especially the Novice 8+. We are excited about the future."

After falling to sixth place with 700 meters to go in the semifinals, the Novice 8+ made a huge surge and edged out Virginia and Notre Dame over the final 400 meters. The Clemson crew finished in 7:24.2 to Notre Dame's 7:26.0 and Virginia's 7:26.3. It is the first time in school history a Clemson shell has defeated a Virginia shell in spring sprint racing.

In other action, the Open 4 finished its preliminary heat in 8:28.6 and finished its repechage in 8:12.7, good enough for third and placement in the A Finals. The Varsity 4+ finished second in a time of 7:48.3 in its preliminary heat and finished third in the semifinals to advance to the A Finals on Sunday.

The 2nd Varsity 8+ finished its semifinal heat second with a time of 7:10.3 and will compete in the C Finals. The Varsity 8+ also finished second in its semifinals and will advance to the C Finals.

Sunday's Schedule
9:00 AM - 2nd Varsity 8+ in D Level Final
9:50 AM - 1st Varsity 8+ in C Level Final
10:20 AM - 1st Novice 8+ in A Level Final
10:40 AM - Open 4 in A Level Final
11:00 AM - 1st Varsity 4+ in A Level Final