The No. 6 Virginia rowing squad gave a solid performance Saturday and Sunday in the Pac-10 Challenge, a two-day regatta in Redwood City, Calif. pitting many of the nation’s top teams against each other in more than 114 races. The Cavaliers swept UCLA and won the Second Varsity Eight race against No. 5 California Saturday, and continued their success Sunday, winning two races against No. 4 Stanford.
Rowers raced Henley-style, made famous for the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England, that features one-on-one racing.
Virginia opened Saturday’s morning session with a loss to California’s Varsity Eight boat, whose time of 6 minutes, 26.6 seconds bested the Cavaliers’ mark of 6:35.1.
“We knew it was [going to] be a tough race,” said senior captain Augusta Stratos, a member of the Varsity Eight. “We knew it was [going to] be a battle all the way through no matter what. It was good to race them early in the season though to see where they are and where we are, and where we need to be in the end.”
Virginia responded with a spirited win from the Second Varsity boat, which finished in 6:31.7 to edge California by about a boat length. The momentum did not last long, however, as the Varsity Four and Novice Eight boats went on to drop their races against the Golden Bears.
All four Virginia boats turned their luck around in the afternoon session, emerging victorious against the Bruins. The Varsity Eight posted a winning time of 6:48.4, topping UCLA’s time of 6:54.3. The Second Varsity Eight won with a time of 6:52.8. Meanwhile, the Varsity Four finished in 8:31.7, compared to the Bruins’ time of 8:37.3. The Novice Eight also dominated its contest, using a 7:50.0 time to beat UCLA’s boat by more than 16 seconds.
Sunday’s series with Stanford brought mixed results as well. The Second Varsity Eight’s 6:48.3 outpaced Stanford’s time of 6:50.5 time, and the Novice Eight defeated Stanford by more than 18 seconds with a time of 7:11.1. The Cavaliers’ Varsity Eight, however, could not match Stanford’s 6:38.9 time, finishing in 6:49.2.
“The competition was pretty steep,” Virginia coach Kevin Sauer said. “[UCLA’s] and Stanford’s varsity eight are very, very good. They have Olympians from the 2008 Olympics in their boats. We found out what kind of speed is out there and what people are bringing. It’s hard for us to lose, but it’s good for us to know what kind of competition is out there and what we need to do to meet it.”
In the wake of the weekend’s hard-fought competition, which came a week after the team’s season-opening sweep of Bucknell, Sauer stressed that his team’s goals for this season are basically the same as those of last year: to work hard everyday, to win a school-record 10th consecutive ACC Championship and to strive for the NCAA Championship. While this year’s team contains relatively equal depth to last year’s squad, which finished fifth at the NCAA Championships, Sauer says the nature of his team is a bit different this year, though.
“Last year we had some really good early speed,” Sauer said. “This year, I think we’re the kind of crew that’s [going to] get faster and faster over the course of the year.”
Although graduating coxswain Caitlin Mixter, as well as losing rowers Katrin Sydlik, Bridget Wandelt, Kelsie Chaudoin and Rebecca Ryall, the Cavaliers still return two All-Americans from the Varsity Eight in juniors Jennifer Cromwell and Lauren Hutchins. Seniors Amanda Chase and Augusta Stratos join Hutchins as the team’s captains.
“We know we have a lot of potential this year,” Stratos said. “So we’re just trying to bring it all out and give 100 percent every single time we race.”
In a sport in which every athlete basically does the same thing, however, Sauer — who has been in charge of the Virginia rowing program since its inception as a varsity sport in 1995 — emphasized that everyone on the team must carry equal weight to be successful.
“It’s a team sport,” Sauer said. “Everybody’s a part of this. It’s hard to key in on individuals in a sport like this.”
Virginia is just one of four schools to compete in at least 10 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, finishing in the top four seven times. It will battle No. 12 Ohio State Saturday at Lake Monticello. The Buckeyes also competed in the Pac-10 Challenge, defeating UCLA 2-1 but losing to Stanford 1-2 and California 0-3.
“Everyone has the same goal in mind long term — the NCAA Championship,” Stratos said. “So we have some big steps to get there.”
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