The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Clemson Invite
No. 14 Rowing's varsity eight defeats four top-20 opponents at Clemson Invite
04.18.2015 | Rowing
Texas defeats top-20 foes UCLA, Oregon State, Gonzaga and Minnesota in varsity eights racing on day one at Clemson.
CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 14 Texas enjoyed a productive day of racing that saw its varsity eight boat defeat four top-20 opponents and challenge a pair of top-10 foes Saturday at the Clemson Invitational on Lake Hartwell. Texas' second varsity eight performed well and defeated a pair of top-20 opponents in its two races, and its varsity four boat knocked off four top-20 opponents.
"We had another good round of racing, and our team has been stepping up to a number of challenges," said UT head coach Dave O'Neill after Saturday's evening session. "We finished behind a really strong Virginia team, but we were able to finish ahead of some strong programs from across the country. We still have plenty of work to do tomorrow and beyond, but it's been a lot of fun moving in the direction we're headed."
The third annual Clemson Invite is a competitive two-day, 21-team regatta featuring half of the 20 schools featured in the latest CRCA team poll. The regatta's final session gets underway Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Eastern. Lane assignments and results can be found here.
The final race of Saturday's evening session, heat three of the varsity eight, featured the 14th-ranked Longhorns and No. 4 Virginia finding open water upon the remainder of the seven-team race. Texas was nearly three seconds down at 1000 meters and started to move in the third 500-meter segment. Virginia held a half-length lead heading into the final sprint. Texas made one final surge but finished a second back. The Longhorns took a close second at 6:22.8 but soundly defeated No. 19 Gonzaga, No. 16 UCLA and No. 20 Minnesota. Gonzaga took third in 6:30.2 while Cornell placed fourth at 6:31.8.
Virginia and UCLA broke away from the field in Saturday evening's second varsity eight heat where UVA was victorious in 6:32.0. UCLA placed second at 6:32.7 and Texas took third at 6:40.9, well ahead of No. 20 Minnesota and No. 19 Gonzaga, who placed fourth and seventh, respectively.
Before Texas and Virginia broke away from the pack in their varsity eight heat, they did the same in heat three of the varsity four. Texas moved back on Virginia in the last 500 meters to finish a respectable 4.1 seconds behind one of the top fours in the country. Texas took second at 7:22.9 while Minnesota settled for third in 7:32.3. Texas took second behind Virginia in heat two of the second varsity four at 7:31.9.
Morning Recap
Strong performances from its varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four boats highlighted the opening session for the Longhorns at the Clemson Invitational.
"We had some tight racing this morning and came out on the short end of each of them against a good WSU team," said UT head coach Dave O'Neill. "The biggest margin was a second-and-a-half in the NCAA events, so there was some great competition. We're heading in a good direction."
No. 14 Texas and No. 10 Washington State had open water on the rest of the field through much of the V8+ race. Texas took a lead of about three seats and extended it to five seats at 1,000 meters.
The Longhorns held a one-seat lead at the 1,500 meter mark before the Cougars closed the gap and won the race by just over a second. Washington State took the win in 6 minutes, 30 seconds and Texas took a close second in 6:31.1. No. 18 Oregon State took third in 6:43.5 while host Clemson held fourth in the seven-team race at 6:46.2.
The 2V8+ race featured another tight battle at the top between Texas and Washington State. The Cougars led by nearly half a length at the halfway mark and maintained that lead until the final 250 meters when Texas mounted a rally. The Longhorns' sprint came up just short, and Washington State prevailed by a split second. The Cougars won in 6:44.5 with Texas finishing closely behind in 6:45.0. Oregon State took third at 6:51.4 while No. 20 Minnesota took fourth in 6:57.4.
Once more, Texas and Washington State engaged in a tight race, this time in the V4+. WSU took early control over Minnesota and Texas, but the Horns broke even with the Golden Gophers and matched up with Washington State for another furious race to the finish. The Cougars held off a formidable Texas effort and won in 7:29.5, just 1.5 seconds ahead of the Longhorns at 7:31.0. Minnesota settled for third at 7:37.1.
Texas finished among the top half of its final race, the 2V4+, and took third in 7:43.5. Two-time defending NCAA champion Ohio State won the heat in 7:37.8.
Clemson Invite Evening Results
Varsity 8+ (Heat 3 of 3)
1 #4 Virginia, 6:21.7
2 TEXAS, 6:22.8
3 #19 Gonzaga, 6:30.2
4 Cornell, 6:31.8
5 #16 UCLA, 6:34.9
6 #20 Minnesota, 6:41.7
7 Dartmouth, 6:44.6
Texas Lineup: Katie Betsill (coxswain), Katie Trovato (stroke), Emily Froehlich, Gia Doonan, Pippa Loveard, Nadja Hyson, Casey Redman, Kim Gorcyca, April Brown (bow)
Second Varsity 8+ (Heat 3 of 3)
1 Virginia, 6:32.0
2 UCLA, 6:32.7
3 TEXAS, 6:40.9
4 Minnesota, 6:48.2
5 Cornell, 6:50.2
6 Dartmouth, 6:51.0
7 Gonzaga, 6:53.9
Texas Lineup: Kenna Harris (coxswain), Sara Neaves (stroke), Allyson Hite, Victoria Bujala, Victoria Bartell, Sarah Cadman, Angela Bumstead, Sofia Arend, Rachel Fleming (bow)
Varsity 4+ (Heat 3 of 3)
1 Virginia, 7:18.8
2 TEXAS, 7:22.9
3 Minnesota, 7:32.3
4 Gonzaga, 7:37.7
5 UCLA, 7:38.0
6 Dartmouth 7:43.2
7 Cornell, 7:45.1
Texas Lineup: Emily Walker (coxswain), Jessica Smith (stroke), Melanie Eckert, Rachel Smith, Natalie Guzikowski (bow)
Second Varsity 4+ (Heat 2 of 2)
1 Virginia, 7:19.4
2 TEXAS, 7:31.9
3 Louisville, 7:33.5
4 Syracuse, 7:34.4
5 UCLA, 7:35.6
6 Cornell, 7:37.3
7 Dartmouth, 7:53.7
Texas Lineup: Teresa Nguyen (coxswain), Hannah Hinton (stroke), Carmen Hargis-Villanueva, Sara Walton, Schyler Gilmour (bow)
Clemson Invite Morning Results
Varsity 8+ (Heat 3 of 3)
1 Washington State, 6:30.0
2 TEXAS, 6:31.1
3 Oregon State, 6:43.5
4 Clemson, 6:46.2
5 Bucknell, 6:52.6
6 Minnesota, 6:53.1
7 Tennessee, 7:00.3
Texas Lineup: Kenna Harris (coxswain), Katie Trovato (stroke), Emily Froehlich, Gia Doonan, Pippa Loveard, Nadja Hyson, Casey Redman, Kim Gorcyca, April Brown (bow)
Second Varsity 8+ (Heat 3 of 3)
1 Washington State, 6:44.5
2 TEXAS, 6:45.0
3 Oregon State, 6:51.4
4 Minnesota, 6:57.4
5 Clemson, 7:03.0
6 Tennessee, 7:13.3
7 Bucknell, 7:27.4
Texas Lineup: Katie Betsill (coxswain), Sara Neaves (stroke), Allyson Hite, Victoria Bujala, Victoria Bartell, Sarah Cadman, Angela Bumstead, Sofia Arend, Rachel Fleming (bow)
Varsity 4+ (Heat 3 of 3)
1 Washington State, 7:29.5
2 TEXAS, 7:31.0
3 Minnesota, 7:37.1
4 Oregon State, 7:47.6
5 Clemson, 7:49.7
6 Tennessee, 8:04.9
Texas Lineup: Emily Walker (coxswain), Jessica Smith (stroke), Melanie Eckert, Rachel Smith, Natalie Guzikowski (bow)
Second Varsity 4+ (Heat 2 of 2)
1 Ohio State, 7:37.8
2 Syracuse, 7:41.0
3 TEXAS, 7:43.5
4 UCLA, 7:48.8
5 Dartmouth, 7:59.3
6 Indiana, 8:01.5
7 Duke, 8:09.2
Texas Lineup: Teresa Nguyen (coxswain), Hannah Hinton (stroke), Carmen Hargis-Villanueva, Sara Walton, Jessica Glennie (bow)
Players Mentioned
