Rowing: No. 9 Virginia enjoys successful opening day at ACC Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 9 Virginia won all five of its heats on the first day of the ACC Rowing Championship Friday morning on Lake Wheeler in Raleigh, N.C.

The Cavaliers won their respective heats in the Third Varsity Eight, Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, Varsity Four and Second Varsity Four to advance to the grand final in each event Saturday.

“We had a great morning and I’m proud of their effort,” Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer said. “Tomorrow is another day though and the finals are another level, so we need to be ready.”

UVA will seek its 13th straight ACC Rowing championship on Saturday. The Cavaliers have captured 86 of the previous 95 events at the conference championship. UVA has also raced to ACC titles in 21 of the 22 ACC championship regattas.

On Friday, UVA posted a time of 6:45.694 in the Third Varsity Eight, defeating runner-up Notre Dame (6:56.080) by more than 10 seconds.

The Cavaliers raced past second-place Duke 6:21.638-6:28.840 in the Varsity Eight and topped Miami 6:36.238-6:50.586 in the Second Varsity Eight.

UVA’s Varsity Four dominated its race with a time of 7:08.707 to defeat second-place Notre Dame (7:31.373) by more than 22 seconds. The 2V4 completed a perfect day of racing for the Cavaliers with its win (7:12.071-7:22.257) over Syracuse.

The Cavaliers’ Lindsay O’Neil and Lily Bernero posted a win in a spare pair race in their final race. The UVA duo topped Notre Dame, Duke and two Clemson boats with a time of 8:05.3. O’Neil and Bernero won by close to 20 seconds over runner-up Duke.

The ACC Rowing Championship concludes Saturday morning beginning at 8:05 a.m. with the Petite Final of the Third Varsity Eight race. The finals will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra (WatchESPN.com) and the ESPN App.

Our 3V8 opens #ACCROW with a big win in heat one, knocking off runner-up Notre Dame by more than 10 seconds (6:45.694-6:56.080)! We have the recap here!🔶⚔️🔷 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/MLrpex3imI

— Virginia Rowing (@UVARowing) May 12, 2023

FRIDAY PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Third Varsity Eight: 1. Virginia, 6:45.694, 2. Notre Dame, 6:56.080, 3. Clemson, 7:00.674, 4. Boston College, 7:04.838, 5. Miami, 7:31.566

Varsity Eight: 1. Virginia, 6:21.638, 2. Duke, 6:28.840, 3. Notre Dame, 6:34.040, 4. Louisville, 6:45.634

Second Varsity Eight: 1. Virginia, 6:36.238, 2. Miami, 6:50.586, 3. Clemson, 6:51.124, 4. Boston College, 6:55.146, 5. North Carolina, 7:08.602

Varsity Four: 1. Virginia, 7:08.707, 2. Notre Dame, 7:31.373, 3. Miami, 7:34.937, 4. Clemson, 7:40.845, 5. Louisville, 7:51.345

Second Varsity Four: 1. Virginia, 7:12.071, 2. Syracuse, 7:22.257, 3. Clemson, 7:39.217, 4. North Carolina, 7:43.863

LINEUPS

Varsity Eight: Coxswain: ViVi Van Ingen, Stroke: Kate Kelly, 7: Elsa Hartman, 6: Lauren Benedict, 5: Leia Till, 4: Jenna Hajji, 3: Larkin Brown, 2: Lily Jarrett, Bow: Eva Frohnhofer

Second Varsity Eight: Coxswain: Janet Conklin, Stroke: Sophia Coppola, 7: Catherine Williams, 6: Lauren Orr, 5: Paige Loh, 4: Cillian Mullen, 3: Sarah Bradford, 2: Riley Richardson, Bow: Sky Dahl

Third Varsity Eight: Coxswain: Sarah Statler, Stroke: Izzie Bird, 7: Helene Dmitrijev, 6: Grace Lebo, 5: Teagan Orth, 4: Tahne Badenhorst, 3: Bianka Smeulders, 2: Brooke Alexander, Bow: Beatrice Jones

Varsity Four: Coxswain: Nora Grabcheski, Stroke: Lauren Jochims, 3: Lauren Jochims, 2: Meagan Goldsmith, 2: Kate McGee; Bow: Addison Luce

Second Varsity Four: Coxswain: Zoe Tekeian, Stroke: Katie Stephens, 3: Nel Straub, 2: Natalie Bailey; Bow: Izzie Begley