April 8, 2009

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (SMU)-SMU rowing raced against Alabama and North Carolina in a 1,800-meter course on the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, taking third place in competition on Saturday, April 4.

In extreme conditions of a strong current and variable headwind of 5-15 mph, the Mustangs clocked a 7:35.80 in the varsity eight, which was coxed by Liz Haggerty, and stroked by Janice Merideth, Lauren Doucet, Catherine Campbell, Alex Austin, Hannah Hansing, Caroline Merideth, Chantal Bohren, and Liz Langdon. The Mustangs got off to a greast start, but a fell a few beats below UNC and Alabama put SMU six beats behind.

The second varsity eight raced to a time of 8:05.90, holding on throughout the race to stay in contention, but without a strong sprint fell behind.

In the varsity four, a team of Emily Van Volkinburg as coxswain, Torre Kean as stroke, Rebecca Routs, Molly Goodman, and Laura Benavides raced to a fourth place finish, crossing the line at 9:48.00 with strong middle 1000 meters pace.