Saturday, March 31
Redwood Shores, CA
TBD
University of Louisville
at
Pac-12 Challenge
Rowing Meets Top Crews at Pac-12 Challenge
March 29, 2018 | Rowing
Cardinals face Pac-12 powers Cal, Stanford and USC this weekend
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following their season-opening outing at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational, the University of Louisville women's rowing team travels west to face some of the nation's best programs at the Pac-12 Women's Challenge. The event in Redwood Shores, Calif, hosted by Stanford University, will open on Saturday, March 31 with two sessions, followed by a morning session on Sunday, April 1.
In addition to Stanford, Louisville will be joined at the invitational by Pac-12 members USC and California, as well as Iowa, Michigan State and Princeton. In last season's NCAA Championships, California finished second, with their rival Stanford placing sixth.
"We have to attempt to strengthen our conference results by having out-of-conference competitors," said head coach Derek Copeland. "Obviously, seeing anyone in the Pac-12 on the west coast is a big deal. They're one of the strongest conferences, if not the strongest conference in rowing. For this race, we want to string together three consistent races where we're proud of the result. We're not letting any conditions, situations or travel get in our way."
The Cardinals will send their varsity eight, varsity four and second varsity eight crews to California, with the boats competing in dual races. In the Saturday morning session, beginning at 9 a.m. PST, the Cards will take on Stanford, followed by USC in the Saturday afternoon session (3:40 p.m. PST). The action will conclude with a matchup against California on Sunday morning at 9:10 a.m. PST.
"With our senior class, we have great leadership and great speed," said junior Abbi Fitts. "I'm really excited for us to go and race these top teams because I think we're going to be really fast this year. We were able to finally get back on the water and continue training, so I think that's going to carry forward in our California races."
The Cards return to competition after grabbing four wins at Oak Ridge two weeks ago. In the opening Saturday session, the V8+, 2V8+ and 2V4+ took first against Clemson, Notre Dame and Tennessee. The remaining win came from the V4+ crew on Sunday morning against Miami, Minnesota and Notre Dame. Following the Pac-12 Challenge, the Cards will continue Atlantic Coast Conference action with the Clemson Invitational on April 14-15.
"I think we had a really good weekend at Oak Ridge. We had a really good race," said junior Claire Bahain. "We're racing the top programs in the nation. We're going open-minded and trying to do our best. We want to improve and give our best."
Results from this weekend's races will be posted on Twitter at @Pac12Challenge. Check GoCards.com for recaps from both days of competition.
SCHEDULE
All times in Pacific Standard Time
Saturday Morning
9 a.m. – V8+ vs. Stanford
9:30 a.m. – 2V8+ vs. Stanford
10 a.m. – V4+ vs. Stanford
Saturday Afternoon
3:40 p.m. – V8+ vs. USC
4:10 p.m. – 2V8+ vs. USC
4:40 p.m. – V4+ vs. USC
Sunday Morning
9:10 a.m. – V8+ vs. California
9:40 a.m. – 2V8+ vs. California
10:10 a.m. – V4+ vs. California
In addition to Stanford, Louisville will be joined at the invitational by Pac-12 members USC and California, as well as Iowa, Michigan State and Princeton. In last season's NCAA Championships, California finished second, with their rival Stanford placing sixth.
"We have to attempt to strengthen our conference results by having out-of-conference competitors," said head coach Derek Copeland. "Obviously, seeing anyone in the Pac-12 on the west coast is a big deal. They're one of the strongest conferences, if not the strongest conference in rowing. For this race, we want to string together three consistent races where we're proud of the result. We're not letting any conditions, situations or travel get in our way."
The Cardinals will send their varsity eight, varsity four and second varsity eight crews to California, with the boats competing in dual races. In the Saturday morning session, beginning at 9 a.m. PST, the Cards will take on Stanford, followed by USC in the Saturday afternoon session (3:40 p.m. PST). The action will conclude with a matchup against California on Sunday morning at 9:10 a.m. PST.
"With our senior class, we have great leadership and great speed," said junior Abbi Fitts. "I'm really excited for us to go and race these top teams because I think we're going to be really fast this year. We were able to finally get back on the water and continue training, so I think that's going to carry forward in our California races."
The Cards return to competition after grabbing four wins at Oak Ridge two weeks ago. In the opening Saturday session, the V8+, 2V8+ and 2V4+ took first against Clemson, Notre Dame and Tennessee. The remaining win came from the V4+ crew on Sunday morning against Miami, Minnesota and Notre Dame. Following the Pac-12 Challenge, the Cards will continue Atlantic Coast Conference action with the Clemson Invitational on April 14-15.
"I think we had a really good weekend at Oak Ridge. We had a really good race," said junior Claire Bahain. "We're racing the top programs in the nation. We're going open-minded and trying to do our best. We want to improve and give our best."
Results from this weekend's races will be posted on Twitter at @Pac12Challenge. Check GoCards.com for recaps from both days of competition.
SCHEDULE
All times in Pacific Standard Time
Saturday Morning
9 a.m. – V8+ vs. Stanford
9:30 a.m. – 2V8+ vs. Stanford
10 a.m. – V4+ vs. Stanford
Saturday Afternoon
3:40 p.m. – V8+ vs. USC
4:10 p.m. – 2V8+ vs. USC
4:40 p.m. – V4+ vs. USC
Sunday Morning
9:10 a.m. – V8+ vs. California
9:40 a.m. – 2V8+ vs. California
10:10 a.m. – V4+ vs. California
Players Mentioned
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