When team history can be measured entirely by the last regatta's showing, setting a new squad record doesn't add much to a performance. Fortunately for the women's rowing team, its four medals and slew of top-10 finishes at Saturday's Head of the Tennessee are achievement enough.
Competing in their second regatta of their inaugural fall, the Blue Devils finished with three third-place finishes and a second-place finish, easily pushing themselves toward the top of the team field along with Dayton and regional power Tennessee.
"I think we had a really good race across the board, varsity and novice," team co-captain Tonya Lippard said. "It was good to see all the hard work we've put in really showing itself.... I think this regatta showed that Duke and Tennessee are, in the southeast, going to have be reckoned with."
The varsity 8+ boat, the premiere entry in collegiate regattas, again paced the Duke squad in the early going with a third-place finish.
"We had a really good race on a great course," said Lippard, the boat's coxswain. "Everything went as expected. It was a run-of-the-mill head race, no last minute sprints this time. We had only practiced in 8+ a few times since the Charles, but we were able to clean up our technique. We rowed more cleanly this time, more as a team."
While the national focus may have been on the varsity competition this weekend, it was the Blue Devil novices that took center stage. In their first collegiate racing appearance, the five novice boats combined for three top-10 finishes highlighted by a second- and third-place showing by the two 8+ boats.
"For their first race to have placed second and third is just phenomenal," Lippard said. "I think we knew that the novices knew they had a lot of potential. We weren't surprised that they did so well, but we were definitely pleased and impressed that they had such a strong showing."
Duke rowing charted yet another first this weekend as both varsity and novice fours took the water. Despite limited practice time during the week and lessened emphasis on the fours' performance, all six boats finished in the top 13.
"We have only had a little time together in the boat, in fours," said Lily Clark, coxswain of the 10th-place varsity boat. "But it's something we're definitely looking to improve upon next week, we'll do better."
Like Saturday's competition, the Nov. 6 Head of the Chatahoochee will feature primarily regional competition, including the ACC's other programs-Virginia, Clemson and North Carolina. As the final regatta of the fall for the Blue Devils, the Head of the Chatahoochee should provide this team with a better idea of its national competitiveness.
"We're going to see these same teams next week, and through the spring," Lippard said. "We think that 'The Hooch' is going to be the place where we're going to excel. We should medal again both novices and varsity.... We're just going to try to finish strong this winter and start preparing for the spring."
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