University of North Carolina Athletics
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UNC Women's Rowing Defeats Sacramento State
March 16, 2000 | Women's Rowing
March 16, 2000
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The University of North Carolina rowing team emerged from another thrilling morning of racing with wins in both varsity events, one by just eight-tenths of a second. "Today's races were exactly what we need," said coach Joel Furtek, whose team has one race remaining on its California tour. "Both of our varsity crews have made a lot of progress in developing their boat identities, and their trust in each other and their speed."
The day's premier race, the varsity eight, was perhaps the best in what has been a valuable week of competition for the Tar Heels. Racing on Lake Natoma, Carolina jumped out to a one-seat lead in the initial strokes, but Sacramento State pulled back to a one-seat lead of its own. Over the next 500 meters, the two crews were seat-for-seat before UNC pulled ahead and extended its lead to as many as six seats before Sacramento State mounted a challenge in the final 600 meters. The boats were within a seat of each other in the final 20 strokes, but the Tar Heels pulled out enough to edge across the finish in a time of 6:53.12 to Sacramento State's 6:53.93. UNC's win broke a streak of 10 consecutive dual meet victories by the Hornets.
The second varsity eight also managed to come out on top of a tight race, with a time of 7:08.91 to Sacramento State's 7:14.21. The Tar Heels pulled ahead early and then fought off a late challenge by the hosts to win by more than five seconds. "They asserted themselves early in the race with their power," Furtek said. "They had a great race to win by a good margin over a fast crew. I'm really pleased with the way that lineup has come together."
Carolina's novice boat fell to Sacramento State's novice A boat, which recorded a time of 7:16.98 to UNC's 7:28.79. Sacramento's B boat finished in 7:50.0. "Our novices executed well and performed well, but unfortunately I think the cumulative fatigue on a trip like this is harder on the novices," Furtek said. "It was a tough race for them to swallow. They did perform well, it ˇs just a matter of them getting adequate rest."
The Tar Heels will race for the fifth time in eight days on Saturday, when they challenge California-Berkeley in the final race of their spring break trip.
