Cardinal Rowers Make History With Two Silver Medals
July 10, 2000 | Rowing
October 16, 1999
INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Louisville women's rowing team made history Saturday when nine freshmen teamed up to capture a pair of silver medals at the Head of the Eagle Regatta in the program's inaugural competition at Eagle Creek State Park in Indianapolis, Ind.
"I was really impressed with the way our nine freshmen handled themselves in making history at the University of Louisville's first-ever race," said U of L head coach Julio Viyella. "They were extremely calm and composed, and they all stuck to the race plan in both events."
In the Women's Open 8, Beth Toner made a solid rowing debut as she coxed the Cardinals to a second-place time of 14:18 in the 2.75 mile race, just one second behind the University of Wisconsin A boat. Melissa Campbell, Sheila Cornelius, Jessica Donohue, Michelle Fendrick, Jennifer Klipple, Kristin Pittman, Laura Scherberger and Blaire Steinert provided the thrust in the seven-team race.
"Our silver-medal performance in the Open 8 was very impressive," said Viyella. "To finish just one second behind tradition-rich Wisconsin says a lot about the crew's effort."
Toner coxed the same crew to another silver medal in the Women's Novice 8 with a time of 14:28, nearly one minute faster than third-place finisher Indiana University A (15:19). Wisconsin A captured the gold in the 17-team race with a time of 14:21.
The Cardinals will return to the water this weekend when they travel to Cambridge, Mass., for the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world's largest two-day rowing race.
"This race helped us see how we need to approach practice this week in terms of what we need to work on," said Viyella. "The first-race jitters are out of the way for both myself and the crew, and we could not have asked for a better scenario heading into the Charles."
