The Virginia crew team will take on their first ACC opponent of the season when Duke comes to town this Saturday at 10 a.m. Both teams are riding high, as the Cavaliers and the Blue Devils swept their last regattas.
Virginia swept their races with San Diego State March 16, with the first eight boat finishing in a time of six minutes 49.54 seconds. Virginia's second eight finished second with a time of 6:52.94 half a minute ahead of the San Diego State boat.
Virginia will be favored to win over Duke, who swept their regatta against Louisville and Ithaca College last weekend, but posted much slower times than the Cavaliers. Virginia is not putting very much stock in the times posted by Duke, however.
"Times don't mean anything in rowing," coach Kevin Sauer said. "If you are rowing against the wind and a strong current you are going to post a much slower time."
The Cavaliers won the past two ACC championships and hope to make it three in three years. But first, they will have to show they can edge out other ACC teams in order to keep the streak alive. Duke will be their first ACC test and will allow Virginia to assess itself in ACC competition this year. Duke placed third in last year's ACC championships.
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"We expect Duke to be very good," Sauer said.
Virginia's senior leadership has helped them prepare for tough tests like the Duke regatta.
Virginia returns both seniors Madaline Engel and coxswain Sarah Brennan from last season's All-ACC team to their first boat.
"Those types of experiences are valuable for race day," Sauer said.
Brennan said that the team has a great attitude and is excited about rowing this season.
"Last year we had a disappointing season at nationals," Brennan said. "We are a little more excited about this season."
Although Virginia has dominated the ACC in crew, they realize that other teams are beginning to gain on them.
"Duke is getting faster all the time," junior Molly Baker said. "We know that no race is easy anymore."
As the ACC teams are getting faster, the Cavaliers find it easier to get excited about racing.
"My first and second years it was harder to get geared up to play some of the ACC teams," Brennan said. "Now it is a little easier to get pumped up."
Despite the respect they give to their opponents, Virginia rowers say they primarily concern themselves with what they can do.
"We just go out there and put our best foot forward," Sauer said. Past success is "not pressure, other teams are after us because we do really well, but it's not pressure."
The Cavaliers still are working on improving themselves. As of yesterday, the team was still deciding who would be in the first and second boats. Despite the tinkering with personnel, the team has remained confident and enthusiastic.
As Virginia prepares for Duke, their March 30 regatta at Michigan is looming in the future. The ACC/Big Ten Dual meet will give the Cavaliers a chance to compete against much more widely respected teams than Duke and will be the Cavaliers' biggest test of their early season.
"We are taking it one week at a time," junior Amanda Kennedy said, "but we are doing things everyday to get faster: faster for Duke, and faster for Michigan and other teams."
If the regatta at Michigan is a looming shadow, it remains only a shadow, as the Cavaliers focus on Saturday's regatta.
"It will let us know a little bit more about where we stand in our own conference," Baker said.
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