Tar Heels Look To Build Tradition with Lake Wheeler Invitational

Saturday, April 27

Raleigh, N.C.

7:30 AM

North Carolina

Lake Wheeler Invitational

The Tar Heel seniors, minus December graduate Adelaide Cooke

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Tar Heels Look To Build Tradition with Lake Wheeler Invitational

April 27, 2019 | Women's Rowing

Complete Results Photo Gallery

By: UNC Athletic Communications

RALEIGH, N.C. – The inaugural Lake Wheeler Invitational was shorter than planned but just as successful as hoped, with nine Division I women's rowing programs competing under sunny skies on Saturday and showcasing collegiate rowing in an area that rarely sees it.

"We were really excited to host this event and we thank all the schools for coming, especially with finals approaching," UNC coach Sarah Haney said. "Seeing how close all of the races were, we feel like we had the right schools in our field. We're excited to get this event started and make it into a tradition."

UNC and Duke are more often competitors, but in this case they partnered to host the event, which originally was scheduled for Friday and Saturday but had to be shortened to a one-day event due to bad weather on Friday afternoon. "Both schools have similar goals when it comes to advancing rowing in general and on the Division I collegiate level in particular," Haney said. "I thought everyone worked really well together and it was a successful first event."

The schools also worked closely with the staffs at Lake Wheeler and Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources.

The aspect UNC would most like to change as the event progresses is the team's results. On Saturday, the best Tar Heel finish was third place by the varsity four and the team placed seventh overall.

Duke placed first with 99 points, followed by Navy (71), Central Florida (70), Michigan State (66), Clemson (59), Temple (39), UNC (38), Miami (25) and Georgetown (21).

For complete racing results, click here.

Carolina's week wasn't the best in terms of preparation. UNC has been training back at its old – and smaller – home at University Lake due to high water at Jordan Lake. Injuries have forced lineup changes, and student-athletes are preparing for finals, which start on Monday. "But even with all of that, we have to figure out a way we can bring our A game," Haney said. "We didn't race very well across the board today. We've had such a good season and we were really prepared to have a good showing, but it just wasn't there today.

"Every race we learned something and we'll move on and try to get better from that. We'll figure out how to advance and have a strong showing at ACCs."

The ACC Championship is up next for North Carolina. Clemson will host the event on May 17-18.

UNC capped Saturday by honoring its 11 seniors, eight of whom are in-state products. The senior class is Paige Colpo (Cary,N.C./Green Hope HS); Adelaide Cooke (Cary, N.C./Green Hope HS); Alex Davis (Raleigh, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons HS); Mackenzie Drake (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor HS ); Elizabeth Farley (Mooresville, N.C./Lake Norman); Margaret High (Whiteville, N.C./Whiteville HS); Maria Marroquin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic HS); Laura Naylor (Chapel Hill/East Chapel Hill HS); Lydia Thompson (Greensboro, N.C./Caldwell Academy); Kelly Williams (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase HS); and Sara Zetterberg (Knoxville, Tenn./Farragut HS). Cooke graduated in December and the rest will graduate in just a few weeks.

"The reason we really wanted to host this is to give a home race to our team, especially the seniors," said Haney, whose team often competes far from home. "I'm really excited for our athletes to get to represent their school in front of their family and friends."

UNC Lineups

Varsity Eight
Madeline Lavin (coxswain), Maria Marroquin, Kelly Williams, Bridget Tarnowski, Paige Colpo, Amanda Perez, Elizabeth Farley, Melanie Hussey, Sally Stanley

Second Varsity Eight
Ashley Lim (coxswain), Sara Zetterberg, Elizabeth Mitchell, Alex Davis, Alessandra De Vito, Katie Bell, Margaret High, Abby Hudspeth, Caleigh Sewell

Third Varsity Eight
Sophia Perkins (coxswain), Charlotte Melgard, Sarah Cate Niles, Sarah Velarde, Hattie Doherty, Mackenzie Drake, Caroline Young, Maddie Smith, Sydney Tumey

Fourth Varsity Eight
Caileigh Ryan (coxswain), Samantha Kane, Ashton Brown, Ali Worland, Katie Characklis, Juliana Micchia, Alexis Levister, Aiden Lefebvre, Gabrielle Labrozzi

Varsity Four
Sofia Triana (coxswain), Julianne Peters, Liz Finnessy, Katie McMahon, Hannah Fisher

Second Varsity Four
Lara King-Asturias (coxswain), Lydia Thompson, Lindsay Miller, Zoe Rose, Olivia Curran