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Tulsa
Central/South Rowing Championship & Inaugural C-USA Championship
Tulsa Rowers Finish Fifth in Conference USA Championship
5/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 16, 2010
Oak Ridge, Tennessee - The University of Tulsa women's rowing team finished fifth in the Inaugural Conference USA Championship as they raced five boats in the `C' Finals at the Central/South Rowing Championship, which was held in conjunction for the league title, on Sunday morning at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
"We came into this regatta with high expectations," Head Coach Kevin Harris said. "We wanted to establish ourselves among the crews at the Central/South Championship and compete for a Conference USA Championship, and I think it was a very positive day for the Tulsa crew. We learned a lot, gained speed throughout the weekend and we look forward to this event next year."
Aidan Leddy, a senior from Georgetown, Texas, was named to the All-Conference USA team, the first Tulsa rower in school history to garner all-conference honors.
"Aidan has been a great rower for Tulsa the last four years," Harris said. "She has had incredible growth and maturity throughout her career, and she has been an integral part of the team. She served as co-captain this season and has helped create a team that was able to compete with some of the best teams in the country this weekend."
The Golden Hurricane's Varsity 4+, which consists of Natalie Hall, Carla Horne, Megan Fitzpatrick, Kelly Hill and Rebecca Stangl, turned in top finish in the `C' Final. The TU team posted a time of 7:34.20, more than six seconds faster than second-place Kansas.
"The Varsity 4+ was disappointed they didn't make a higher final so they set out to prove that they were a good team and they did just that," Harris said. "They led from the beginning to the end, and their finish helped us finish fifth in the conference."
The Open 4+ `B' boat, which consists of all freshman, including Megan Melott, Puja Sztorc, Hannah Bogan, Molly Selig and Shantel Wagner, captured a second-place performance in the Open 4+ `C' Final, just under a second faster than Tulsa's `A' boat in the event. The `A' boat features sophomore Abigail Gorman, senior Susan Stangl, sophomore Kellyn Smith, junior Anne Campbell and junior Heather Brooks, which finished third.
TU's Dana Urbanek, Alaina Ferraro, Arielle Tillou, Kellen Baggett, Aidan Leddy, Emory Cate, Elise Grafe, Stephanie Rogers and Jessica Fosdyck rowed the Varsity 8+ to a sixth-place `C' Final finish in a time of 6:50.96, while the 2nd Varsity 8+ also claimed a sixth-place `C' Final mark with a time of 7:06.40. The 2nd Varsity 8+ was coxed by Rosie McCarthy, and featured Allyson Brooks, Meredith Papps, Jacqueline Malleo, Amanda Urquhart, Erin Leddy, Rachel Buchanan, Emily Wynn and Katie Holtvogt.
"Both the Varsity 8+ and 2nd Varsity 8+ just didn't have enough today," Harris said. "It was the fastest the Eight's have raced this year and we have nearly everyone returning next year from both of these boats. This weekend was a good step in learning how to be faster against the top teams in the nation and it will help us as we move forward in the future."
The Golden Hurricane will return to the water next weekend, May 22-23, at the US Rowing Collegiate Championship in Mercer County, N.J.
Open 4+ `C' Final 1. Notre Dame - 7:42.50 2. Tulsa `B' - 7:45.92 3. Tulsa `A' - 7:46.45 4. Iowa - 7:52.55 5. UCF - 7:55.80 6. Oklahoma - 8:07.91Varsity 4+ `C' Final 1. Tulsa - 7:34.20 2. Kansas - 7:40.55 3. Alabama - 7:44.30 4. Oklahoma - 7:51.26 5. Kansas State - 7:55.63 6. Indiana - 8:03.92
Varsity 8+ `C' Final 1. Duke - 6:39.50 2. UCF - 6:49.36 3. Texas - 6:43.03 4. Alabama - 6:45.42 5. Indiana - 6:49.07 6. Tulsa - 6:50.96
2nd Varsity 8+ `C' Final 1. Indiana - 6:53.60 2. Louisville - 6:54.59 3. Duke - 6:59.23 4. Oklahoma - 7:00.06 5. Kansas - 7:00.56 6. Tulsa - 7:06.40
C-USA Team Results 1. Tennessee 2. UCF 3. Texas 4. Oklahoma 5. Tulsa 6. Alabama 7. Kansas 8. SMU 9. Kansas State
