SARASOTA, Fla. – Wrapping up action at the Big Ten Invitational in extraordinary fashion Saturday was the 15th-ranked Tennessee rowing team, earning five wins in as many races to place an emphatic exclamation point on a stellar weekend.
Overall, Tennessee won 14 of the 15 races in which it had a boat competing in during the two-day event at Nathan Benderson Park.
Tennessee’s average margin of victory in each of its 14 wins in Sarasota was a whopping 9.031 seconds.There was at least one top-13 opponent in each of those 14 race wins. Furthermore, there were at least two top-13 opposing boats in nine of UT’s 14 race wins.
In Saturday’s action, the Lady Vols faced off against three opposing crews per race, each of which were ranked inside the top 16 in the CRCA national poll.
Tennessee’s 1V8+ crew—Sasha Radovanovic (coxswain), Meg Flanagan, Emma Seawright, Sarah Abrams, Alex Pidgeon, Stella Mirkovic, Alice Fahey, Nicole Campbell and Gracie Condon—recorded a strong performance en route to crossing the line in 6:23.176 Saturday morning. No. 13 Rutgers was nearly five seconds back, 16th-ranked Indiana finished over six seconds behind the Lady Vols and the first varsity eight crew of No. 14 Duke was over eight seconds behind UT.
The Lady Vols’ second varsity eight boat—Elizabeth Walley (coxswain), Sophie Hill, Megan Hewison, Riley Ferdelman, Hannah Smith, Hannah Richardson, Paige Reymann, Katie Rice and Erin Gifford—put down the fastest time of any boat in competition Saturday, posting a final time of 6:20.650. That mark outpaced second-place Indiana’s 2V8+ boat by an eye-opening 15-plus seconds. Duke’s crew was over 17 seconds off of UT’s time, while Rutgers crossed the line over 20 seconds after Tennessee.
In the 1V4+ race, Tennessee (7:14.453) crossed the line nearly three seconds ahead of Duke, in what was the Lady Vols’ closest win of the day. Indiana was a distant 12-plus seconds behind the UT crew upon crossing the line.
Tennessee’s 2V4+ crew also handled its business Saturday, posting a convincing win and finishing in 7:19.229. That final time was nearly nine seconds ahead of Duke and 23-plus seconds ahead of fourth-place Indiana.
The 3V8+ race capped the successful event for Tennessee. It was another win for the Big Orange, as the crew crossed in 6:41.996, over six seconds ahead of Duke and a tick under 24 seconds ahead of fourth-place, 12th-ranked Ohio State.
Up next, Tennessee travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the Lake Wheeler Invitational, running Friday-Saturday, April 26-27.
Race Results
1V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:23.176)
2. #13 Rutgers (6:28.126)
3. #16 Indiana (6:29.954)
4. #14 Duke (6:31.288)
2V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:20.650)
2. #16 Indiana (6:35.830)
3. #14 Duke (6:37.881)
4. #13 Rutgers (6:40.743)
1V4+:
1. #15 Tennessee (7:14.453)
2. #14 Duke (7:17.402)
3. #13 Rutgers (7:21.762)
4. #16 Indiana (7:27.666)
2V4+:
1. #15 Tennessee (7:19.229)
2. #14 Duke (7:28.034)
3. #13 Rutgers (7:33.567)
4. #16 Indiana (7:42.808)
3V8+:
1. #15 Tennessee (6:41.996)
2. #14 Duke (6:48.597)
3. #9 Michigan (6:50.014)
4. #12 Ohio State (7:05.937)
Lineups
1V8+: Sasha Radovanovic (coxswain), Meg Flanagan, Emma Seawright, Sarah Abrams, Alex Pidgeon, Stella Mirkovic, Alice Fahey, Nicole Campbell, Gracie Condon
2V8+: Elizabeth Walley (coxswain), Sophie Hill, Megan Hewison, Riley Ferdelman, Hannah Smith, Hannah Richardson, Paige Reymann, Katie Rice, Erin Gifford
1V4+: Laila Irigoyen (coxswain), Channing Taner, Logan Yates, Casey Chronister, Maylie Valiquette
2V4+: Audrey Bast, Sheya Lavin, Allison Lea, Alyssa Biernat, Abby Fowler
3V8+: Mykayla Fluster (coxswain), Lili Binetti, Paris Thornburg, Beatrice Bernard, Natalia Loram, Tiara Dye, Maiya Birdling, Kiana Worobey, Evelyn Hedrick
