Dec. 10, 2007

Tulsa, Oklahoma - The University of Tulsa Head Women's Rowing Coach Kevin Harris announced today the signing of 10 student-athletes to National Letters-of-Intent for the fall 2008 semester.

The newcomers include twins Katie and Kristen Bernet, Catharine Brierre, Rachel Buchanan, Alaina Ferraro, Jourdan Kondrat, Lauren Pacinelli, Sarah Pond, Arielle Tillou, and Amanda Urquhart.

"Each of these women are very intelligent and physically strong, and will bring different talents and strengths to the team next year," Harris said. "They will have an immediate impact in helping the team become faster. They all buy into the fact that Tulsa can compete with any team in the country. I look forward to coaching them for the next four years."

Catharine Brierre, TU's lone Oklahoma signee, is from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa and rows as a member of the Tulsa Juniors Rowing Club. She has competed in the Head of the Charles as a member of the Youth 4+, and in the Youth 8+ at the US Rowing Youth National Championships, as well as the Head of the Oklahoma, the Head of the Colorado and the Wichita Frostbite Regatta. Brierre was selected as the Most Improved Female Rower in 2006 by the TRC.

Katie and Kristen Bernet come to Tulsa from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas. Katie helped her Junior Novice 4x take home a top finish at the Lake Woodlands Championship and record a second-place mark in the Junior Novice Lightweight at the S.W.E.A.T. Regatta. Kristen assisted her Junior Novice 2x team to a fourth-place mark at the Lake Woodlands Championship, and a sixth-place finish in the Junior Novice 4x at the Heart of Texas Regatta. The duo are both three-year letterwinners in cross country and serve as co-captains this season.

Alaina Ferraro and Lauren Pacinelli are two signees from Mercyhurst Preparatory School in Erie, Pa. The tandem have each earned three letters in rowing, while Pacinelli also earned a letter as a member of the swim team. Ferraro assisted her Lightweight 4+ and Lightweight 8+ to top marks in the Mercyhurst Regatta, and her Lightweight 4+ to a second-place finish in the Mother's Day Regatta, and a fourth-place mark in the Canadian Nationals as a junior. She also earned a ninth-place finish out of 125 competitors in the Ontario Ergometer Championship as a sophomore.

Jourdan Kondrat, a senior from Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe, Mich., has been a three-year member of the Detroit Boat Club, and rowed her freshman season with the Detroit Women's Rowing Association. As a senior, she has participated in the 2007 US Rowing Club National Championship, the Canadian Henley, the Head of the Charles and various other regattas. In her junior campaign, she assisted her Varsity 4+ and Third Varsity 8+ to second-place mark at the 2007 Midwest Junior Rowing Championships.

Four signees - Rachel Buchanan, Sarah Pond, Arielle Tillou and Amanda Urquhart - come to TU from New York.

Rachel Buchanan, a three-year rowing letterwinner at Arlington High School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., helped her crew earned earn the silver medal in the Open 4+ at the Empire State Games. She also received the Outstanding Rower Award and was selected as a Poughkeepsie Journal All-Star as a junior.

A three-year letterwinner at Spackenkill High School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Sarah Pond helped her Senior 4+ boat finish 13th at the New York State Championship. She also received the Spackenkill Coaches Award and was selected as a Hudson Valley All-Star as a junior.

Arielle Tillou is a three-year letterwinner from Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who has earned eight gold medals in her high school career. As a junior, she placed ninth in the state in the Varsity 8+ and 13th in the Varsity 4+ at the Scholastic Nationals. Tillou has also rowed with the Hudson River Rowing Association for the past four years, winning two bronze and one silver medal at the Empire State Games in the past two years. She has also earned two letters as a member of her cross country team.

A two-year letterwinner from Shaker High School in Albany, N.Y., Amanda Urquhart has helped her Varsity 4+ earn a top finish and the Varsity 8+ record a second-place mark at the Lift Bridge Regatta this season. As a junior, she was a member of the Varsity 4+ that finished second at the NYS Section 2 Championship and the High School 8+ that took fourth at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, and as a sophomore, finished third in the Varsity 8+ in the NYS Section 2 Championship. In the Novice 8+ as a freshman, led the team to a top finish in the NYS Section 2 Championship and a second-place mark at the NYS Scholastic Rowing Championship.