Oct. 24, 2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee women's rowing team won't have far to travel this Saturday as it prepares to compete at the 33rd annual Head of the Tennessee Regatta at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Lady Vols will make their 13th straight appearance at the event hosted by the Knoxville Rowing Association.

Both the varsity and novice teams will compete at the Head of the Tennessee for the first time since 2006. The Orange and White novices will see their first action of the fall season, while the varsity squad is coming off a 14th-place finish in the championship 8+ at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass., last weekend.

UT will enter multiple shells in four events including the collegiate 8+, novice 8+, collegiate double and open pair races. Two Tennessee boats will compete in the novice 8+, taking on 10 other schools including Chattanooga, Alabama, Virginia Tech and Auburn. Big Orange shells will make up the entirety of the field in the collegiate double, while six shells from UT are set to battle in the open pair event. Finally, two Orange and White crews will enter a six-team contest in the collegiate 8+, facing off against Alabama and Virginia Tech.

Historically, the Lady Vols have found success at the only fall race in the Knoxville area, collecting 53 medals all-time at the Head of the Tennessee. The Big Orange has also placed in the top five of the team competition five times, including a program-best No. 2 finish in both 1996 and 1997. Last year, with only the novice squad competing, the Lady Vols placed three of their four boats in the top five in the novice 8+, earning a silver medal in the event.

This year's Head of the Tennessee will feature 33 collegiate, interscholastic and club teams competing in 57 events. Traditionally held on the Tennessee River at the Sequoyah Hills Park, the Head of the Tennessee has moved to Melton Hill Lake because of conflicts with the UT football game on Saturday night. The 2008 course is almost 5,000 meters long, beginning downstream from the Edgemoor Bridge and finishing just past the Oak Ridge Rowing Association boathouse.

The 2008 Head of the Tennessee Regatta is set to open with the men's championship single at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Tennessee will get underway at 10:45 a.m. with the novice 8+, followed by the collegiate double and open pair at 11:40 a.m. Following a lunch break, the Lady Vols will cap the event with the collegiate 8+ at 4 p.m.