University of Louisville
ACC Championship
Cardinals Look for Strong Showing at ACC Rowing Championship
May 12, 2016 | Rowing
Louisville among nine schools competing in two-day championship on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville rowing team begins its post-season push this week at the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, South Carolina. The two-day event begins Friday with preliminary action and concludes with Saturday's finals on ESPN3.
The Cardinals are joined by eight other schools for their second foray into this league championship event after earning a fourth-place finish in last year's regatta. The opening day of racing begins Friday at 6 p.m., ET and features two heat races in each of the five championship events – varsity eight, second varsity eight, third varsity eight, varsity four and second varsity four. Saturday's finals schedule begins at 8:05 a.m., and will conclude with the awards ceremony at 10:15 a.m.
"We're geared to be at our absolute best as a team at the ACC Championship. All of the work and training we've done to this point, from the first time we first met as a group early last fall until now, has been designed with the goal of being at our very best this week," said Louisville head coach Derek Copeland. "I thought we did a good job last year during the last few weeks and it paid off with some strong performances at the ACC Championship and I think we're in a significantly better place as a team now than we were last year."
Virginia is the favorite is the favorite to repeat as champion after being seeded first in all five events. The Cavaliers, ranked fifth nationally this week, have won six straight titles and 15 of the first 16 ACC Rowing Championships, losing only to Clemson in 2009. While UVA is the favorite, the Cavaliers will have several teams pushing them, including 15th-ranked Notre Dame, 16th-ranked Syracuse, 19th-ranked Duke and Louisville, which is not ranked nationally this week, but is among teams receiving votes and was ranked for five straight weeks at the beginning of the year.
"I don't think anyone is going to take down Virginia for the ACC Championship because they're as sharp as ever, but there are multiple teams competing for that runner-up position," explained Copeland. "What everyone wanted in the ACC was to really strengthen the second through sixth positions to improve the depth of the league and that has certainly happened."
The Cardinals are seeded second in the third varsity eight event, third in the second varsity four, fourth in the varsity eight and varsity four and fifth in the second varsity eight. With a training workload which challenges the team early in the season and allows for maximum performance for the championship races, this week's event in the Palmetto State has been in focus for the Louisville rowers throughout the season.
"The team set a series of goals about six months ago specifically related to the ACC Championship and we've had great leadership from our upperclassmen, especially the seniors, to constantly remind the team of those goals and to stay on track for those, especially lately," said Louisville assistant coach Sheila Rinozzi. "We've seen their focus centered on matching the training and the performances so that they're at their best this week. I'm excited and I've been looking forward to this for several months."
The winning team at this week's ACC Championship will earn the league's automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA Championship, set for May 27-29 in Gold River, California. The field of teams for the NCAA Championship will be unveiled on Tuesday (May 17) at 5 p.m., ET on NCAA.com.
Fans can follow University of Louisville rowing on Twitter (@UofLRowing) at http://twitter.com/UofLRowing.
17th Annual ACC Rowing Championship
Schedule of Events
Friday, May 13
6:00 pm.......... Third Varsity Eight (Heat 1)
6:10 pm.......... Third Varsity Eight (Heat 2)
6:20 pm.......... Second Varsity Four (Heat 1)
6:30 pm.......... Second Varsity Four (Heat 2)
6:40 pm.......... First Varsity Four (Heat 1)
6:50 pm.......... First Varsity Four (Heat 2)
7:00 pm.......... Second Varsity Eight (Heat 1)
7:10 pm.......... Second Varsity Eight (Heat 2)
7:20 pm.......... First Varsity Eight (Heat 1)
7:30 pm.......... First Varsity Eight (Heat 2)
Saturday, May 14
8:05 am.......... Third Varsity Eight (Petite Final)
8:15 am.......... Third Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
8:30 am.......... Second Varsity Four (Petite Final)
8:40 am.......... Second Varsity Four (Grand Final)
8:55 am.......... First Varsity Four (Petite Final)
9:05 am.......... First Varsity Four (Grand Final)
9:20 am.......... Second Varsity Eight (Petite Final)
9:30 am.......... Second Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
9:45 am.......... First Varsity Eight (Petite Final)
9:55 am.......... First Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
10:15 am........ Awards Ceremony
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