University of Louisville
at NCAA South/Central Regional Championships
Cardinal Rowing Finishes Third at NCAA South Regional Sprints
May 14, 2006 | Rowing
May 14, 2006
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Led by a strong second-place finish in the Varsity 8+ "B" Final, the University of Louisville rowing program earned an impressive third-place finish overall in the South at the NCAA South/Central Region Sprints Sunday morning on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The Cards, looking to earn the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Championships, scored 227 points to earn the best-ever finish at the event for the seven-year program trailing only Tennessee with 294 points and Virginia with 284 points. UCF was fourth with 193 points followed by Duke with 185, Miami with 142, Texas with 136, Clemson with 86, North Carolina with 59 and SMU with nine points.
The selections for the 2006 NCAA Rowing Championships, scheduled for May 26-28 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J., will be announced on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET. 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.
Leading the way for the Cards at the South/Central Sprints was the Varsity 8+ crew, ranked 23rd in this week's USRowing/CRCA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll, which knocked off three crews ranked among the nation's top 22 with a second-place time of 6:37.15 in the "B" Final. The U of L crew put together a strong sprint over the final 500 meters to defeat No. 15 Virginia in third place at 6:39.17, No. 22 Duke in fourth place at 6:40.64 and No. 19 UCF in fifth place at 6:41.47. No. 14 Michigan State won the "B" Final with a time of 6:34.90.
"This is the first time in school history we've defeated a pair of Top 20 teams in one race and I'm very proud of the effort we showed this weekend," said U of L head coach Richard Ruggieri. "This is a big step for our program and today's performance by our Varsity 8+ crew should give us a very realistic opportunity to close the season ranked in the Top 20 for the second time in school history. I couldn't be prouder of our team than I am right now."
Along with the strong performance in the Varsity 8+ event, the Cards also earned third-place finishes in the 2nd Varsity 8+ "B" Final and the Open 4+ "B" Final and a fifth-place finish in the Varsity 4+ "B" Final. In the 2nd Varsity 8+ event, U of L completed the course with a time of 6:50.82, while Minnesota led the way at 6:41.90 followed by Tennessee at 6:42.84. Duke was fourth at 6:53.68 followed by Texas in fifth at 6:54.07 and UCF in sixth at 6:58.65.
In the Open 4+ event, Miami led the way with a time of 7:52.60, while Michigan was second at 7:54.60. Texas was fourth at 8:00.07 followed by Cincinnati in fifth at 8:10.61 and Duke in sixth at 8:19.71. Texas won the Varsity 4+ "B" Final with a time of 7:38.40, while Tennessee was second at 7:45.13. UCF was third at 7:47.56 followed by Notre Dame in fourth at 7:47.87 and Kansas State was sixth at 7:56.44.
Overall, Ohio State won the combined South/Central Region championship with 366 points to edge Wisconsin in second with 361 points. U of L was ninth in the combined standings out of 21 teams with 227 points.
2006 NCAA South/Central Sprints - Day 2Melton Hill Lake - Oak Ridge, Tenn.
SOUTH REGION STANDINGS1 Tennessee 2942 Virginia 2843 LOUISVILLE 2274 UCF 1935 Duke 1856 Miami 1427 Texas 1368 Clemson 869 North Carolina 5910 SMU 9
1st Varsity 8+ "B" Final1 #14 Michigan State 6:34.902 #23 LOUISVILLE 6:37.153 #15 Virginia 6:39.174 #22 Duke 6:40.645 #19 UCF 6:41.476 Iowa 6:51.84
2nd Varsity 8+ "B" Final1 Minnesota 6:41.902 Tennessee 6:42.843 LOUISVILLE 6:50.824 Duke 6:53.685 Texas 6:54.076 UCF 6:58.65
Open 4+ "B" Final1 Miami 7:52.602 Michigan 7:54.493 LOUISVILLE 7:56.644 Texas 8:00.075 Cincinnati 8:10.616 Duke 8:19.71
Varsity 4+ "B" Final1 Texas 7:38.402 Tennessee 7:45.133 UCF 7:47.564 Notre Dame 7:47.875 LOUISVILLE 7:51.166 Kansas State 7:56.44
SOUTH/CENTRAL OVERALL STANDINGS1 Ohio State 3662 Wisconsin 3613 Notre Dame 3364 Michigan 3175 Michigan State 3126 Tennessee 2947 Virginia 2848 Minnesota 2799 LOUISVILLE 22710 UCF 19311 Duke 18512-tie Iowa 14412-tie Kansas State 14414 Miami 14215 Texas 13616 Indiana 10217 Kansas 9818 Clemson 8619 North Carolina 5920 Cincinnati 5421 SMU 9
