Dec. 17, 2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - With winter training camp just around the corner, the University of Tennessee women's rowing team is prepared to work hard after a successful fall season that saw it collect eight gold medals in five head races. The Lady Vols spent the fall improving their skills and coming together as a team on and off the water in preparation for a tough spring schedule that includes meetings with 2008 South Region champion Virginia and Cal, which finished third at last year's NCAA Championships.

"Typically in rowing you use the fall as an educational and technical foundation-building portion of the year," UT Head Coach Lisa Glenn said. "There's no question that this fall was technical, skill-oriented, foundation-based work for this team. If nothing else, I think the biggest thing this team got out of the fall was a real sense of what its strengths and weaknesses are and we leave the fall with real clarity on those things."

The Orange and White kicked off the fall at the Chattanooga Head Race, taking home seven total medals, including gold and silver in each of the four events the team entered. The seven top-three finishes give Tennessee 44 total medals in its 12 trips to the event.

Highlights from the event included the UT "A" shell of junior coxswain Jessica Williams, junior Mary Beth Dreusike, seniors Erin-Monique Shelton and Kate Brownlee, sophomore Libi Bruncvíkova', juniors Laura Miller and Kate Snider, freshman Melissa Toms and senior Carolina Howell taking gold in the championship 8+, with the "B" boat finishing 45 seconds off the pace. In the championships 4+, junior coxswain Sydney Newman led Snider, Brownlee, Bruncvíkova' and Dreusike to gold again, while freshman coxswain Danielle Woods took home silver in her first collegiate race, guiding Shelton, Toms, Howell and junior Jewell Ludwigsen.

"At the Head of the Charles our championship 8+ raced well," Glenn said. "They represented what we'd done in practice out on the race course very well. We'd only been in training for two weeks, but they did a nice job of taking what we were doing on the water in practice and applying it to the course. What they got out of that was a realization that they were nowhere near where they want to be."

While the Vols were battling Alabama at Neyland Stadium, the Lady Vol rowers were taking several of the Southeast's top teams at the Head of the Tennessee on Oct. 25 in Oak Ridge. The Orange and White entered three races at the event and brought home three gold, three silver and one bronze medal on the day.

The varsity squad opened the event with a 1-2 finish as the only competitors in the collegiate double and collected three more medals in the open pair. The Orange and White swept the first six spots in the eight-boat race, with sophomore RuthAnne Waldrop and junior Stephanie Hunley combining for the gold. The Big Orange capped the day with a 1-2 finish in the collegiate 8+ race. The Lady Vols' "A" crew of Williams, Dreusike, Shelton, Brownlee, Bruncvíkova', Miller, Snider, Toms and Howell crossed the finish line in 15:57.39 to take the gold medal. The Orange and White "B" boat came in 50 seconds later, beating four other squads from Alabama and Virginia Tech. The UT novices also posted a third-place showing in their first action of the season.

One week later, Tennessee returned to Chattanooga for the Head of the 'Hooch Regatta. The championship 8+ "A" shell manned by Ross, Dreusike, Shelton, Miller, Snider, Brownlee, Bruncvíkova', Toms and Howell finished the Tennessee River course in a time of 16:33.7 to take third behind Clemson and Louisville. UT collected another bronze medal in the only other event it entered, as Newman, Shelton, Miller, Bruncvíkova' and Toms finished third in the championship 4+.

The Lady Vols closed out the fall season at the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 16. Though the event is one of the smallest of the fall, it is the most competitive. With perennial powerhouse Virginia serving as host and capturing gold in three of the five women's events, and several of the Central and South Region's top teams in attendance, the event was quite the battle. The Lady Vols claimed just one medal, taking gold in the women's pair as Bruncvíkova' and Miller teamed up to top Duke by less than two seconds. Tennessee also notched fourth-place finishes in both the championship 8+ and women's double at the event.

"The Romp was a very solid performance from every member of our team," Glenn said.

All-in-all, the Lady Vols capped the fall season with 18 total medals, including seven golds. Several of the Tennessee upper-classmen collected five or more medals, including Shelton, Bruncvíkova', Miller, Snider, Toms, Howell and Dreusike. Bruncvíkova' led the team, bringing home seven medals, four of which were gold.

"I think this team is probably one of the strongest mentally of any team we've had in recent years," Glenn said. "What's critical for us now, after having gone through the fall season, is to make sure we really capitalize on those strengths and do the hard work that is necessary for this team to reach its potential."

The Orange and White freshmen also impressed in the fall, as Woods guided two shells to top-three finishes and fellow rookies Paula Coughlin, Hilary Epes and Lorren Shadko combined to collect 10 total medals between them. Shadko was also honored with the team's Most Improved Award for the fall after working her way into a spot in the second eight shell.

"What we're going to need to do in the spring is make sure that we can bring the level of work necessary to get where we want to go and reach this team's potential," Glenn said. "I think every race in the fall was educational for this team. The foundation that we built is really solid. During winter training we're just looking to work hard and continue to build on that."

With the fall season and semester behind them, the Lady Vols now look ahead to their annual winter training camp in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Following time off for the holidays, the team will reconvene on Dec. 29 to get back to work at Sikes Creek in Cocoa Beach. Both varsity and novice rowers will be in attendance as Glenn and the Orange and White will look to set the tone for the spring. The 2009 campaign is set to begin on March 21 on Lake Loudon with a dual meet against Minnesota.