C-USA Rowing Championships to be Held this Weekend
5/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 12, 2011
Tulsa, Oklahoma - The 2011 Conference USA Women's Rowing Championship will be held Saturday, May 14, at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. This is the second C-USA Rowing Championship, but the first as a stand-alone event as last year's was held in conjunction with the Aramark South/Central Region Sprints.
"This is an incredibly important race for us," Head Coach Kevin Harris said. "We as a conference have gotten faster across the board and that shows. It will be a tough race for us, but we are excited and the team has been working incredibly hard for a chance to win a C-USA championship."
Preliminary heats, beginning with Varsity 8+ races, are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. EDT Saturday on the 2,000-meter course. C-USA will determine the team champion based on placement in Varsity 8+, Second Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ races, while crews will also compete in the Novice 8+ and Open 4+. Team and individual awards will be presented at a ceremony following the regatta.
Conference USA has three full-time members that sponsor women's rowing - SMU, Tulsa and UCF, while six additional programs serve as affiliate members in the league - Alabama, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The Alabama rowing team, however, will not compete at the Conference USA Championships as a result of the devastating tornado that hit Tuscaloosa.
"I know the whole team at Tulsa is really sad our competitors at Alabama couldn't come to the regatta," Harris said. "Our hearts go out to them and everyone in Tuscaloosa. Our team put together some clothing donations for the United Way in honor of the Alabama rowing team. We appreciate their competition and we are looking forward to seeing them back on their feet next year."
Texas enters the weekend as the No. 15 ranked team, nationally. The Longhorns rank third in the South Region, with the Second Varsity 8+ ranked second. Tennessee, Oklahoma and UCF follow close behind in the team regional rankings at fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Projected Lineups
Varsity 4+ Natalie Hall Erin Leddy Megan Fitzpatrick Kelly Hill Carlyn Schmidt
Open 4+ `A' Abigail Gorman Puja Sztorc Heather Brooks Molly Selig Carla Horne
Open 4+ `B' Elissa Stiles Kelsey Kean Emily Wynn Jourdan Kondrat Blair Bradley
Varsity 8+ Dana Urbanek Alaina Ferraro Arielle Tillou Nicole McNamee Amanda Schenk Emory Cate Katie Holtvogt Stephanie Rogers Jessica Fosdyck
Second Varsity 8+ Megan Melott Amanda Urquhart Allyson Brooks Renee Vanasse Amy Nelson Rachel Buchanan Brooke Helmberger Meredith Papps Ashton Barragar
