Women's Rowing Looks Strong At SIRA
April 21, 2002
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) — – The University of Miami women’s rowing program saw four boats qualify for Sunday’s finals at the 34th annual Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., while one has already claimed first-place.
The varsity eight moved into Sunday’s Grand Final with a first-place finish in its semifinal race over Tulsa and Delaware. Earlier in the morning, the Hurricanes’ eight also took first in one of the four heats, over Purdue and UCF. In the semifinals, UM outraced second-place Tulsa by a time of 6:53.2 to 6:54.9.
On Sunday, the UM varsity eight will race Delaware, Louisville, Tennessee, Tulsa and Cincinnati. The eight consists of Jenny Lee (coxswain), Jenny Krawec, Anna Cohen, Marijka VanderPol, Jacqui Julien, Jordanna Heywood, Monika Manios,Mandy Turner and Ananda Chou.
The JV eight will also race in Sunday’s Grand Final after placing second in its semifinal with a time of 7:07.9 to first-place Tennessee’s 7:04.6. Purdue (7:17.6) came in third to advance as well. The Grand Final will consist of UM, Purdue, Delaware, Tennesse, Cincinnati and Ohio State.
The JV eight will feature Meg Venezia (coxswain), Kate Weeden, Caroline Stuart, Julie Crane, Alli Nelson, Maggie Knuth, Yassi Hairinia, Sara Grossman and Yennisha Pino.
The varsity four will race in the Grand Final with Wake Forest, Marietta, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Delaware after qualifying in third place in the semifinals with a time of 7:57.7. The Hurricanes finished behind Marietta (7:44.1) and Tennessee (7:52.7). The Hurricanes narrowly placed third ahead of Cincinnati (7:58.1) to advance.
The JV four took first place in its final with a time of 8:06.2, ahead of second-place Stetson (8:18.1), followed by Cincinnati (8:23.2) and Marietta (8:45.5).
Rowing in the varsity four is april runkle (coxswain), Laraine Martin, Melissa Saunders, Rachel Sander and Dorothy Clay. The JV four includes Gaby Scovazzo (coxswain), Tyler McHugh-Merrill, Trisha Blackwell, Liz Miller and Bernadette Lack.
On the novice side, the women saw its eight qualify for the Grand Final placing third in its semifinal with a time of 7:28.7, behind UCF (7:16.5) and Ohio State (7:21.4). They will race Delaware, UCF, Purdue, Ohio State and Tennessee in the Grand Final.
The novice eight competing this weekend consists of Marueen Haley (coxswain), Ericka Miller, Joelyn Manula, Patrice Wakeley, Michelle Owens, Lisa Beezer, Deirdre Curran, Cory Bell and Mary Radinski.
The novice four of Dana Litt (coxswain), Harlee Bustamante, May Lauron, Alana Smith and Makana Tocman did not qualify for the finals after placing sixth in its heat earlier Saturday.
Last season, the Hurricanes’ varsity eight rowed to a Silver medal finish behind Clemson in the Grand final, while the varsity pair won a Gold and the JV eight won the Petite final. The varsity eight won the SIRA in 1999.
