Miami Wraps up Season at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta

Miami Wraps up Season at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta

May 13, 2012

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—The University of Miami women’s rowing team concluded its 2012 season this weekend at the annual Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. Over 130 programs were represented from both the United States and Canada, including fellow-ACC teams Duke and the UNC Chapel Hill.

“The regatta went really well for us,” said Head Coach Andrew Carter. “I think each of our crews walked away with something to be proud of.”

A small group of the team’s walk-on novices raced in a field of 53 crews, winning their heat and advancing to the semi-final round.  With only the top two advancing out of the semi-final, the crew came up a bit short but raced incredibly well.  While in the process of moving into third position with about 200m to go, one of the rowers caught a boat-stopping crab, and the rest of the field went through them.  They did, however, push back to finish in 5th position with a time of 8:03.982 in their semi-final round, edging out Rollins University.

The 1V and 2V crews also raced during the weekend. In the heat, the 1V crew bested a fine crew from Buffalo and four others to win the race and advance directly to the semi-final, avoiding the repackage round for those not finishing in the top two of their heat. In the process they posted a time of 6:33.187, their fastest time in the entire field by over five seconds. In the semi-final, the 1V bested Bucknell for the first time on their way to another win and posted a time of 6:40.975, matched only by the eventual event winner Duke. In the final race, the team struggled a bit in a strong headwind in the first 750m and found themselves in a deficit that was difficult to work their way out of, but they posted a time of 6:52.999 for fifth place, finishing ahead of Sacramento and directly behind Grand Valley.

“The 1V crew had a breakout regatta in many ways. The field was tough and had many crews we’ve faced before without success, including Duke, ODU and Buffalo,” commented Carter.

The 2V crew posted a time of 7:27.886 in their heat, finishing sixth behind George Mason University. “The 2V crew accomplished some significant technical goals that they’ve been working hard on the past couple of weeks,” added Carter. “They didn’t have the aggressive racing required at this regatta, but I think they have made some strides that will really help them as they move into next year.”

For a full list of results from the weekend’s events, click www.hurricanesports.com.