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WVU Opens Spring at Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite
March 11, 2016 03:11 PM | Rowing
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rowing team opens its spring slate at the fifth annual Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational from March 12-13, at the Melton Lake Rowing Venue, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The two-day event is hosted by Louisville, and the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational has evolved into an extremely competitive event that features a talented field of crews from around the nation.
The regatta features morning and afternoon races on Saturday, March 12 as well as morning races on Sunday, March 13. Racing on the 2,000-meter course is set to begin at 9:14 a.m. ET each day, while Saturday’s afternoon session starts at 3:10 p.m. The Mountaineers have boats competing in the varsity eight and second varsity eight events, as well as the varsity four and second varsity four.
The 12-team field highlights a trio of teams ranked in this week’s USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Poll, along with three Big 12 opponents. WVU and No. 20 Louisville are joined by No. 4 Virginia, No. 11 Michigan, No. 17 Notre Dame, Alabama, UCF, Clemson, Kansas, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
“We’ve only been on the water for about two weeks this spring, so there is only so much on-the-water prep you can do for racing this time of year,” said coach Jimmy King. “The same will be true for some of the other colder climate schools competing at the Cardinal Invite, so the warmer climate schools and the schools coming off their spring training trips will definitely have an advantage. Most, if not all, of the schools will test different lineups over the course of the three rounds of racing. By the end of the weekend, we will have valuable information about our teams.”
The Mountaineers have not competed since the completion of its fall season on Nov. 7, when the novice team swept Duquesne, Pitt and Carnegie Mellon on the Allegheny River, in Pittsburgh.
West Virginia also competed at the Head of the Occoquan on Oct. 31. Eight of the Mountaineers’ 10 boats posted top-10 finishes on the Occoquan Reservoir. WVU’s four medals came with first-and second-place finishes in the Women’s Collegiate Novice 4+, a bronze-medal finish in the Women’s Collegiate Novice 8 and a fifth-place finish in the Women’s Championship 4+.
The Mountaineers also had a strong showing in its fall season opener at the Head of the Ohio, on Oct. 3. West Virginia placed first and third in the Women’s Open 4+ and second in the Women’s Open 8. To open the day, West Virginia finished second in the Women’s Open 8, as it faced 12 boats to take a silver medal back home to Morgantown.
“The team is very excited to finally test their speed this weekend,” King noted. “We’ve had very good training conditions on the Mon this past week. They are starting to get a feel for transferring all of the work that they have done on the ergs into the boat.”
Final results will be available at Row2K.com following each day of competition.
WEST VIRGINIA’S RACE SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 12
9:14 a.m. – varsity eight
9:22 a.m. – varsity four
9:38 a.m. – second varsity eight
9:46 a.m. – second varsity four
4:06 p.m. – varsity eight
4:14 p.m. – varsity four
3:30 p.m. – second varsity eight
4:38 p.m. – second varsity four
Sunday, March 13
10:10 a.m. – varsity eight
10:18 a.m. – varsity four
10:34 a.m. – second varsity eight
10:42 a.m. – second varsity four
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Thursday, March 12
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Tuesday, February 24
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