Cards Ready for NCAA South/Central Sprints
May 11, 2006 | Rowing
May 11, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville rowing program will travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the Aramark NCAA South/Central Region Sprints on Saturday and Sunday with the goal of earning the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Championships.
U of L, which enters this weekend's regatta among those receiving votes and tied at 23rd overall in the latest USRowing/CRCA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll, will compete in four events at the South/Central Sprints including the Varsity 8+, 2nd Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+ and Open 4+.
"Our crews have been doing a great job over the last few weeks and they're rowing as fast now as they have been all season long," said U of L head coach Richard Ruggieri. "We know we must have our best races of the season to have a shot at advancing to the grand final in each event and that's our goal. I'm very pleased with how the team has prepared and worked to get to this point, so now it's time to go race and see how things work out."
Louisville will open its schedule on Saturday at 9:10 a.m. ET in the second of two Open 4+ heat races. The Cards will then race in Varsity 4+ Heat #1 at 10 a.m., 2nd Varsity 8+ Heat #2 at 10:40 a.m., and Varsity 8+ Heat #3 at 11:30 a.m. Following a mid-day break in the schedule, the semifinal races are set to begin at 2 p.m. ET and run through 4:10 p.m. All event finals are scheduled for Sunday with the first race set to begin at 9 a.m. ET.
The Cards enter the weekend following a second-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships on April 30 in Worchester, Mass., the first conference regatta in the seven-year history of the U of L rowing program.
"The BIG EAST Championships were an eye-opening experience for our team because competing for a conference title was a new challenge for us," Ruggieri said. "I think our athletes learned a lot from that and it will only make us better for the rest of this season and into next year."
With a strong enough performance at this weekend's South/Central Sprints, U of L would advance to the NCAA Championships on May 26-28 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The team championships is comprised of 12 teams and each team is required to field two boats of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers. In addition, four eight-women boats from institutions not represented in the team competition are also selected.
2006 Aramark NCAA South/Central SprintsMay 13-14 - Oak Ridge, Tenn.Racing Schedule
Saturday, May 139:10 a.m. - Open 4+ Heat #2 (U of L preliminary race)10:00 a.m. - Varsity 4+ Heat #1 (U of L preliminary race)10:40 a.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ Heat #2 (U of L preliminary race)11:30 a.m. - Varsity 8+ Heat #3 (U of L preliminary race)2:00 p.m. - Open 4+ Semifinal A/B #12:10 p.m. - Open 4+ Semifinal A/B #22:40 p.m. - Varsity 4+ Semifinal A/B #12:50 p.m. - Varsity 4+ Semifinal A/B #23:00 p.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ Semifinal C/D #13:10 p.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ Semifinal C/D #23:20 p.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ Semifinal A/B #13:30 p.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ Semifinal A/B #23:40 p.m. - Varsity 8+ Semifinal C/D #13:50 p.m. - Varsity 8+ Semifinal C/D #24:00 p.m. - Varsity 8+ Semifinal A/B #14:10 p.m. - Varsity 8+ Semifinal A/B #2
Sunday, May 149:00 a.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ "D" Final9:10 a.m. - Varsity 8+ "D" Final9:20 a.m. - Open 4+ "C" Final9:30 a.m. - Novice 8+ "C" Final9:40 a.m. - Varsity 4+ "C" Final9:50 a.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+"C" Final10:00 a.m. - Varsity 8+ "C" Final10:10 a.m. - Open 4+ Petite Final10:20 a.m. - Open 4+ Grand Final10:30 a.m. - Novice 8+ Petite Final10:40 a.m. - Novice 8+ Grand Final10:50 a.m. - Varsity 4+ Petite Final11:00 a.m. - Varsity 4+ Grand Final11:10 a.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ Petite Final11:20 a.m. - 2nd Varsity 8+ Grand Final11:30 a.m. - Varsity 8+ Petite Final11:40 a.m. - Varsity 8+ Grand Final
- All times Eastern and subject to change
