Rowers Win Three Gold Medals at Season-Opening Regatta

Sept. 29, 2001

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The University of Louisville women's rowing team kicked off its 2001-02 season by winning three gold medals Saturday at the Head of the Licking Regatta.

The event, which was hosted by the Cincinnati Rowing Club, was held on the Licking River in Newport, Ky. All races were three miles in length.

The Cardinals placed two boats in the top three in the Women's Open 4+ race. The "A" boat finished first in the 10-team race with a time of 20:43.19, while the "B" boat came in third at 21:10.00.

In the Women's Open 8+ event, the Cardinals won the four-team race with a time of 19:34.00, nearly 30 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Cincinnati.

The third gold medal was won in the Novice 4+ race as the Cards won the six-team event by more than three and a half minutes.

Freshman Lucy Svehla won a bronze medal in the Women's Open Single race, becoming the first Cardinal in the program's three-year history to race solo.

Freshman Ashley Spence made a strong collegiate debut as she was a member of all three gold-medal winning teams. Junior co-captain Jennifer Klipple also won three gold medals in her debut as a coxswain.

"Our goal going into this event was to compete in multiple races to test conditioning and gain race experience," said second-year head coach Richard Ruggieri. "I am extremely pleased with the results and with the effort each individual gave. Now we must focus on preparing for next week as the competition will be a little stronger."

The Cardinals travel to Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday for the LemonHead Regatta.

Louisville Finishes:

Open 4+ "A"                 1st of 10 (20:43.19)Open 4+ "B"                 1st of 10 (21:10.00)Open 8+                         1st of 4 (19:34.00)Novice 4+                   1st of 6 (22:38.00)Open Singles (Lucy Svehla) 3rd of 5 (24:13.61)

NOTE: Head coach Richard Ruggieri teamed with Tori Murden and won a bronze medal in the Mixed Master's 2x event. Murden became the first woman and first American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean in December, 1999. For Ruggieri, it was his first competition since the 1991 Pan-Am Trials.

University of Louisville Athletics

Rowers Win Three Gold Medals at Season-Opening Regatta

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