April 1, 2012

Facing stiff competition and strong winds, the Lady Vol rowing team closed strong on the final day of the San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay Sunday.

Thanks to gutsy racing by all three shells, UT gained valuable racing experience.

The 2V8+ got things started for the Lady Vols in the event's petite final. Racing in an outside lane and facing a strong crosswind, the shell impressively finished fifth in 7 minutes 31.62 seconds.

"The 2V8+ raced gutsy races all weekend," head coach Lisa Glenn said. "They had a gutsy piece yesterday and did well today with a significant crosswind. I'm really proud of them."

Next up was the V8+, finishing fourth in 7 minutes 39.35 seconds.

"The V8+ got some great experience for a pretty young boat," Glenn said. "They raced hard but they're anxious for the next opportunity to race."

After a strong performance on Saturday, the V4+ shell competed in Sunday's grand finale. The Lady Vols took fourth place with a time of 8 minutes, 8.98 seconds.

"The V4+ had an exciting heat yesterday and went into the final ready to go," Glenn said. "They ended up with a pretty strong finish and did a nice job of finishing the race."

Tennessee now takes a week off from competition before returning to the road to race at Michigan on April 14.

RESULTS:
2V8+ (Petite Final): 1. Washington State 7:21.00, 2. Texas 7:22.47, 3. Oklahoma 7:25.11, 4. Clemson 7:25.15, 5. Tennessee 7:31.62
V8+ (Petite Final): 1. Clemson 7:22.95, 2. Washington State 7:27.94, 3. Texas 7:29.22, 4. Tennessee 7:39.35, 5. Alabama 7:46.21
V4+ (Grand Final): 1. Virginia 7:58.12, 2. Washington State 8:02.23, 3. UCLA 8:05.35, 4. Tennessee 8:08.98, 5. USC 8:11.79