Tulsa Captures 10th Annual Lawless Cup

Saturday, April 16

Catoosa, Okla.

TBA

Tulsa

Lawless Cup vs. SMU/Central Oklahoma

Tulsa Captures 10th Annual Lawless Cup

4/16/2016 10:42:00 AM | Rowing

By: Stephanie Hall

The Tulsa rowers captured the 10^th Annual Lawless Cup and won all four races of the regatta on Saturday morning at the J. Bird Sr. Shell Nest on the Verdigris River in Catoosa, Okla.

"I am really pleased with the way we executed the races today," Head Coach Kevin Harris said. "SMU is always tough competition because of the rivalry and we knew UCO, being the No. 2-ranked Division II team in the country, was going to bring their 'A' game. "Our athletes are coming into their own right now and I am proud of the way things are coming together. We still have a lot of work to do before we race Oklahoma in the Stone Cup and before the American Athletic Conference Championships."

TU's 2^nd Varsity 4+ 'A', which featured Sarah Robinson, Abigail Elggren, Julia Herrell, Jessica Burke and Lindsay Crute, got the regatta off to a good start, turning in a top time of 8:31.5 for a 25-second win over SMU, while the Golden Hurricane 'B' boat was third.

Betsy Govig, Emalia Seto, Madeline Oleksiak, Annie Martin and Audrey Brown raced the Varsity 4+ to a top mark with a time of 8:03.7, while UCO was second and SMU finished third in times of 8:15.1 and 8:49.4, respectively.

"We made some changes in the Fours after the Knecht Cup and I thought they looked really good today," Harris said. "We've traditionally done well in the Fours, but they will be increasingly important as we move toward the end of the season. It was good to see them put together solid races and earn two wins for the program."

In the 2^nd Varsity 8+ race, Tulsa was first with a time of 7:19.2, followed by TU's 3^rd Varsity 8+ boat in a time 7:28.8. SMU turned in a third-place finish, while UCO was fourth.

"The 2^nd Varsity 8+ and 3^rd Varsity 8+ had exceptional runs today," Harris added. "The way the 3V8 pushed the 2V8 shows that as a team we are all pushing to get faster. It was a great result to finish first and second."

In the title race, Marcia Vidaurri, Maria Gearing, Hannah Vissers, Lauren Vander Hoeven, Ashley Lane, Hannah Emnett, Sam Tober, Emily Farrar and Jennifer Casson raced the Varsity 8+ to a six-second win with a time of 7:06.6. SMU was second in a time of 7:12.4, while UCO was third in a time of 7:20.5.

"The Varsity 8+ really got pushed by SMU in the first 750 meters, but we stayed poised and executed the race plan, which allowed us to break ahead," Harris said. "They did a wonderful job of finishing out their race today to claim the Lawless Cup."

After the regatta, TU honored seniors Jerusha Blankenship, Marissa Catalanotto, Madison Crane, Hannah Emnett, Emily Farrar, Betsy Govig, Ashley Lane, Sarah Ringler, Kaitlyn Schneider, Emalia Seto, Leah Suleski and Sam Tober.

The Lawless Cup Regatta was established in 2005 to recognize the outstanding contributions that TU President Emeritus Dr. Robert Lawless and his wife, First Lady Emeritus Marcy Lawless, made toward the success of the Tulsa women's rowing program. Since the inception of the Lawless Cup, TU has gone undefeated in Cup races, bringing home the trophy in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The official Lawless Cup is presented to the winner of the Varsity 8+ race.