March 8, 2008
Photo Gallery 
DALLAS (SMU)--The SMU women's rowing team kicked off the spring with a convincing win over Creighton Saturday morning. The crews battled sub-freezing temperatures on White Rock Lake, with the Mustangs emerging victorious, winning four of the five races.
In the first event, the second varsity eight cruised to an open water victory. Coxswain Emily St. John led her boating of Bianca Medici, Lauren Doucet, Danielle Nehf, Chantal Bohren, Katelyn Verner, Caroline Merideth, Janice Merideth and Caitlin Ludwig to a finish of 7:13.42 on the 2k course. Creighton's boat was almost 30 seconds behind, clocking a time of 7:40.30.
The Mustangs picked up their second win of the day, when the varsity eight, coxed by Liz Hagerty, crossed the finish line in the second open water win. Meredith Walter, Krystal Kulka, Alexa Tuszynski, Alex Austin, Kelly McKinley, Ellen Cieskiewicz, Amanda DeGroff and Julie Pollard took an early lead and never lost momentum. The varsity boat crossed the finish in 6:59.70, almost 12 full seconds ahead of Creighton's varsity boat.
SMU's novice eight got off to a bad start, causing the race to be recalled to the starting line, but the novices recovered and put together a very strong showing. Medici, Lauren Hadaway, Hannah Hansing, Torre Kean, Rebekah James, Alex Hazelton, Sofya Davydova and Lindsay Graff pulled to an open water victory over the Bluejays, crossing the line in 7:47.42, while the Jays pulled in at 8:05.71. The novice boat was coxed by Ali Smith.
In the varsity four `A' event, coxswain Emily Van Volkinburg's crew of Ludwig, Ashley Luther, K.C. Burke and Nicolle Keogh fell behind early. The boat recovered their rhythm, but could not catch up to Creighton. The Mustangs finished in 8:25.26, less than half a length behind Creighton's `B' boat. The Jays' `A' boat crossed the line in 8:05.12.
The final event was the varsity four `B' race. Kulka, Verner, C. Merideth and DeGroff hit the water with coxswain Hagerty, taking an early lead they would never relinquish. The Mustangs coasted to a 20-second victory, crossing the finish at 7:48.89. Creighton's closest boat finished in 8:09.06, while the other crossed at 8:21.59.
"I'm happy with our performance today," said head coach Doug Wright. "I think today was a good benchmark, going into spring break, of what we need to do to get faster. I see where we need to improve and now we know what we need to work on."
The Mustangs are off for the next three weeks before hitting the road to face Alabama on March 29. For the complete schedule and results, log on to SMUMustangs.com.
Results:
2nd Varsity Eight
1. SMU, 7:13.42
2. Creighton, 7:40.30
Varsity Eight
1. SMU, 6:59.70
2. Creighton, 7:11.66
Novice Eight
1. SMU, 7:47.42
2. Creighton, 8:05.71
Varsity Four `A'
1. Creighton, 8:05.12
2. Creighton, 8:25.13
3. SMU, 8:25.26
Varsity Four `B'
1. SMU, 7:48.89
2. Creighton, 8:09.06
3. Creighton, 8:21.59
