By a razor's edge, Virginia sweeps past Clemson to ACC rowing title

Though perennial power Virginia swept all four races in the ACC Championships for the second consecutive year, the 14th-ranked Clemson rowing team proved on Saturday that it could compete with the elite, as hard, late charges from the Tigers made for close and dramatic finishes in both the Varsity 8 and second Varsity 8 races.

“I’m incredibly proud of our team today,” said Clemson coach Robbie Tenenbaum. “Virginia is historically one of the best teams in the country, and this year, again, is one of the best teams in the country.”

Hosting the league’s championship regatta for the second year in a row, second-seeded Clemson finished second in three races (the first and second Varsity 8, and the Varsity 4), and third in another (the Novice 8). Top-seeded and fifth-ranked Virginia claimed the overall title with 60 total points, followed by Clemson (49 points), Duke (41), Miami (23), Boston College (22), and North Carolina (14).

In the first race of the day, Virginia’s Varsity 4 built an early lead that held-up for a winning time of 7:17.5. The Tigers posted a second-place time of 7:28.0, followed by Duke (7:39.6), BC (7:44.8), UNC (8:00.9), and Miami (8:46.2).

“Virginia made some changes in their four, and their four got out a little bit,” said Tenenbaum. “But our kids didn’t get rattled, and they held in and put in a few charges to try to keep the race close. I’m really proud of them.”

Clemson’s Novice 8 crew finished third in the next race, which Virginia won with a time of 6:49.5. Duke’s second-place time of 7:01.0 narrowly bested Clemson’s 7:03.6, while UNC and BC finished fourth and fifth with times of 7:04.2 and 7:24.1, respectively.

“Our Novices are a young group, and it’s mostly inexperienced people,” said Tenenbaum. “They got into a really tight battle and came in third. I’m proud of them because most of them are first-year rowers, and a lot of the folks in the other boats have a little more experience.”

In the third race, Virginia’s second Varsity 8 (6:35.9) had to hold off a late but impressive surge by the Tigers (6:40.8). Duke finished third (6:59.0), ahead of Miami (7:04.5), BC (7:09.9), and UNC (7:18.3).

“The second Varsity 8 has been a little bit off, and a little bit down,” said Tenenbaum. “But the last few days in practice, they’ve just been on. They’ve been on-fire and have really been ready to race, and they came out and raced one of the best second eights in the country.

“As good as Virginia is as a team, their second 8 is their best boat. To be able to be within a boat-length of them - I think it was 4.9 seconds - well, the term I use is that our kids went out and threw one down today. I could not be more proud of them, and our kids are just hoping to get another shot at Virginia when we get to the NCAAs.”

The last race of the day was the most tightly contested as Virginia’s Varsity 8 just barely escaped being overtaken by the Tigers at the finish. Virginia’s survival was a matter of the whisker-thin margin separating the winning time of 6:23.9 and the Tigers’ effort of 6:25.1. Duke (6:41.4) finished third, followed by Miami (6:49.6), BC (6:55.5), and UNC (6:57.5).

Based on its near-miss challenge to the Cavaliers, as well a number of wins over top-twenty opponents this spring, the Tigers’ Varsity 8 crew of Katie Bruggeling, Laura D’Urso, Laura Basadonna, Becca Brown, Liz Robb, Sarah Daanen, Heather Cummings, Grace Wolff, and Stephanie Cameron, was voted the ACC Crew of the Year. In addition to that honor, Robb, a senior, was joined by freshmen D’Urso and Basadonna on the All-ACC first team.

“I don’t even know what to say about the Varsity 8,” said Tenenbaum. “They’ve been doing a great job all year. It’s the flagship boat of our program, and they went out today and raced the way they knew they could race. We were maybe seven or eight seats down with 500 meters to go, and finished 1.2 seconds behind them. This is a crew that’s raced the best crews in the country super-tight, and I think our kids know that they can race with anybody in the country.”