Louisville Closes Fall Season with Rivanna Romp

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a strong performance at the Head of the Hooch regatta last Saturday, the University of Louisville rowing team concludes its fall season at Sunday's Rivanna Romp hosted by the University of Virginia on the Rivanna Reservoir in Earlysville, Va.

"The way we plan our season is that the whole fall season comes down to this, like our spring season comes down to the ACC Championship" said head coach Derek Copeland. "We travel with similar squad size. The training plan is similar, so we can practice the way we want to train in the spring."

The Cardinals will make their seventh-consecutive appearance at Sunday's event. Louisville will race three boats in the varsity eight race at 11 a.m., followed by the novice and freshman eight boats competing at 12:30 p.m. Shortly after the launch of that race, a quartet of four boats will compete in the varsity four race. Joining Louisville and host Virginia will be ACC rivals Clemson, Duke and North Carolina, as well as Ivy League competitor Penn.

Last weekend in Chattanooga, the Cards' varsity crews took first place in both the championship eight and championship four races, while the freshman crew was runner-up in the college and club novice eight race. Additionally, the second varsity eight boat, as well as second varsity four and third varsity four boats all turned in top-10 finishes. In their debut race, the novice eight crew finished 18^th.

"The girls are starting to get in a groove," said senior coxswain Perie Howard, who directed last week's winning varsity eight boat. "We're finding our speed and getting faster every day, so it was a nice place to display that."

"We won the four last year, and the other fours were well off the pack. This year, it was much more what we would've expected. The second through fifth fours performed much better than last year," said Copeland. "The novices fit right in with the group. They're happy and they love to be there, and they seemed to love the experience."

In addition to returning rowers from last season, the Cards will also benefit from the experiences of some newcomers, including freshman Emmy Wuensch, who hails from Charlottesville. She is excited for the opportunity to return home and compete on her home course.

"I'm super excited," said Wuensch. "My whole high school team is going to be there, and my family will be there. I'll probably cry because I miss it a lot."

With one last race before the winter break, the Cards are hoping to turn in a strong performance against many of their top league competitors.

"It's an exciting race because it's the first time we see really good ACC teams, and it's the last time we'll see them until the spring season starts, so it's a good way to head into the winter season and put those erg numbers in," said volunteer coach Gabi Biederharn, who competed in the Romp during each season of her career. "I think we're going to put up some good numbers, especially coming off a successful weekend at Hooch. This weekend is going to tell us a lot about where we are, and no matter what, it is going to be a positive weekend."

Following the Romp, the Cards will remain home for the winter training session, before a Florida training trip in February that culminates with a scrimmage against UCF and Tennessee on Feb. 23 in Orlando. Louisville will then begin its spring regular season by hosting the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational on March 16-17 in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Check GoCards.com on Sunday for results and a full recap of the Rivanna Romp. Fans can follow Louisville rowing on Twitter (@UofLrowing) at http://twitter.com/uoflrowing, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UofLRowing and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/uoflrowing.

SCHEDULE
Varsity Eight Race (V8+, 2V8+, 3V8+) – 11 a.m.
Novice/Freshman & Varsity Four Race (V4+, 2V4+, 3V4+, 4V4+) – 12:30 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Perie Howard

Emmy Wuensch

University of Louisville Athletics