Cardinal Rowers Win Bronze Medal at Southern Championships
April 22, 2001 | Rowing
April 22, 2001
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The University of Louisville women's Varsity 4+ squad brought home a bronze medal Sunday from the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships, marking the first-ever varsity medal won by the Cardinals' second-year program at the event.
The two-day, 56-team event was held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Freshman coxswain Christy Ochsner guided the Varsity 4+ team as the Cards finished the 2000m race with a third-place time of 8:02.16, edging Duke for the bronze medal by just more than two seconds. Joining Ochsner on the medal-winning team were freshmen Nicole Ginn and Allison Kemphaus and sophomores Melissa Campbell and Kris Pittman.
Jacksonville won the 24-team race in 7:52.59, followed by West Virginia (7:52.93).
In other action, the Cardinals' Novice 8+ team placed third in the Petite class and ninth out of 30 overall with a time of 7:26.02, less than one second behind Emory.
Freshman coxswain Jacinta Hagans joined freshmen Laurie Robison, Karla Curry, Carmen Noltemeyer, Elissa Peak, Heather Sarne, Stephanie George and Kemphaus and junior Lindy Zeller in the event.
"This was an exceptional weekend for Louisville rowing," said U of L head coach Richard Ruggieri. "The varsity unit keeps getting better with every race. They still have a lot of speed in them, of which they will find in the next two and a half weeks before we close the season. The novices rowed very aggressively and had a big improvement in their speed as well."
The Cardinals close out their second season of intercollegiate rowing and their first at the varsity level May 12-13 when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for the Dad Vail Regatta.
