No. 4 Tennessee rowing dominated during the Princeton Invite on April 18 on Lake Carnegie, with the team taking five wins in six races.
The invite included top-ranked programs such as No. 6 Princeton, No. 8 Virginia and No. 3 Yale.
The Lady Vols started strong with a standout finish over Virginia’s 1v8 crew with a time of 6:12.1. Tennessee edged out Yale by over two seconds, with Princeton and Virginia following close behind. A vast improvement over their previous performance. Sophomore coxswain Taryn Graves led the boat to a first-place finish. Graves is already on the CRCA Athletes to Watch List and has received SEC honors for her freshman performance. She guided the 1v8 crew to a time nearly 12 seconds better than their previous performance.
The Lady Vols’ 1v4 came in clutch as well. Led by Audrey Bast, the 1v4 finished first with a 7:15.3, blazing past No.8 Virginia by over four seconds. Bast was accompanied by Thea Coull, Paris Thornburg, Stella Mirkovic and Zoe DeFeo. Bast moved from the 3v4 to the 1v4, ensuring another time drop for the Lady Vols.
The 2v4 and the 3v4 finished first, not long after. The two boats boast time improvements of their own on top of their honors. Tennessee’s 2v4 came in over four seconds faster than Yale, and their 3v4 finished in 7:22.7. The 3v4, led by Marissa Garcia, beat Princeton by over 20 seconds. Garcia, a junior, used her experience to lengthen the Lady Vols’ lead, right on their previous best.
Patricia Menendez, previously coxing the 2v8, translated this success into a winning 2v4. The 2v4 boat finished in 7:19.7, four seconds better than second-place Yale.
The 3v8 finished with ease, blazing past Virginia with a 6:42.6. The Cavaliers came across the finish line 13 seconds later.
Tennessee’s 2v8 boat was the only one not to find success. The crew finished in last place with a 6:28.9 time, though it was only four seconds back from winning Virginia. The race featured a tight finish, with Virginia at 6:24.5, Princeton at 6:25.6 and Yale at 6:28.3.
The Lady Vols will take on the SEC Championships on Sunday, May 10, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
