April 19, 2009

Oak Ridge, Tennessee - Tulsa's Novice 4+ captured a gold medal, the Varsity 4+ earned a silver medal and the 10th-ranked Lightweight 8+ claimed the bronze medal on Sunday morning at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

"I really felt like we made some big gains this weekend," Head Coach Kevin Harris said. "We didn't quite make the goals we had, but I feel like that is due to our little water time in practice due to weather conditions, but we'll correct that this week. I feel like the team is working very hard to achieve our goals this season. We are on a really positive path, and I feel like we are moving upward. We are looking forward to hosting the MIRC next week, and just trying to get faster."

The Golden Hurricane Novice 4+ repeated as SIRA champions with a time of 8:05.1, more than four seconds faster than second place Oklahoma. In the Varsity 4+, TU was just under two seconds shy of first place with a time of 7:55.9 to receive the silver medal.

"I am really excited to repeat as Novice 4+ champions," Assistant Coach Leslie Smith said. "It was a close race, but we pulled away at the end to capture the gold medal. It was a great race."

TU's 10th-ranked Lightweight 8+ raced for the first time in this regatta today and turned in a time of 7:40.2 for the bronze medal, just four seconds behind 13th-ranked Ohio State, but nearly 18 seconds behind Georgia Tech.

The Novice 8+ finished fourth in the Grand Final, just .7 seconds shy of medal contention, but finished 17 seconds faster than Kansas, which TU beat by just .2 seconds yesterday.

"I am very happy with what this Novice 8+ was able to accomplish," Smith said. "They made a big jump from yesterday to today in terms of their competition with KU. They raced with a lot of confidence and aggression today."

Novice 4+ Grand Final
1. Tulsa - 8:05.1
2. Oklahoma - 8:09.3
3. Murray State - 8:16.0
4. Purdue - 8:24.9
5. Kansas - 8:35.4
6. Charleston - 8:38.0
Varsity 4+ Grand Final
1. Stetson - 7:53.10
2. Tulsa - 7:55.9
3. Kansas - 8:01.0
4. Louisville - 8:07.6
5. Nova Southeastern - 8:18.3
6. William & Mary - 8:20.74
Novice 8+ Grand Final
1. Alabama - 7:14.9
2. Grand Valley State - 7:20.2
3. Kansas State- 7:26.4
4. Tulsa - 7:27.1
5. Kansas - 7:44.1
Lightweight 8+ Grand Final
1. Georgia Tech - 7:22.9
2. #13 Ohio State - 7:36.0
3. #10 Tulsa - 7:40.2
Varsity 8+ Petite Final
1. SMU - 7:07.6
2. Oklahoma - 7:08.0
3. Alabama - 7:09.6
4. Tulsa - 7:16.3
5. West Virginia - 7:25.5
6. Jacksonville - 7:26.0
Varsity 8: c.  Nicole Falvo, 8. Nicole McNamee, 7. Arielle Tillou, 6. Alaina Ferraro,  5. Aidan Leddy, 4. Caitlin Duffy, 3.  Jennifer Anderson, 2.  Carla Horne, 1. Allison Bridge
Lightweight 8: c.  Abigail Gorman, 8.  Kelsey Kean, 7.  Heather Brooks, 6.  Susan Stangl, 5.  Elizabeth Peterson, 4.  Emily Callen, 3.  Kellyn Smith, 2.  Anne Campbell, 1.  Michelle Kadin
Novice 8: c.  Natalie Hall, 8.  Jessica Fosdyck, 7.  Autumn Dinkelman, 6.  Elise Grafe, 5.  Rachel Buchanan, 4.  Lauren Pacinelli, 3.  Emily Wynn, 2.  Amanda Urquhart, 1.  Ashton Barragar
Varsity 4+: c.  Dana Urbanek, 4.  Lindsey Bailey, 3.  Jacqueline Malleo, 2.  Krysti Knoche, 1.  Katie Holtvogt
Novice 4+: c.  Caitlin Dryke, 4.  Jourdan Kondrat, 3.  Kelly Hill, 2.  Emory Cate, 1.  Rebecca Stangl