Garnering another point for the Carlyle Cup this Saturday, the Duke women's crew team placed third in the ACC championships ahead of its Tobacco Road rivals.
Duke and North Carolina finished even with 15 points each, but the Blue Devils broke the tie on the Duke's dominant 9.9-second lead in the varsity-eight race.
"I was really impressed with the varsity eight-plus and how they solidly handled Carolina," coach Robyn Horner said. "It's the first time we've done so well [against the Tar Heels] in the history of the program."
At the first women's rowing ACC championships last spring, Duke finished last. This year, the Blue Devils powered past Carolina to place behind two-time ACC champion Virginia and host Clemson.
While Duke finished strongly in the varsity eight races--finishing third in both the first and second divisions--the Blue Devils failed to catch the Tar Heels in the varsity-four races. Duke was narrowly defeated by the Tar Heels in the first varsity-four-plus matchup by less than two seconds and then allowed Carolina a margin of victory of almost six-seconds in the second race.
"It's good to move up a step and get our Carlyle Cup point and all that, but I hoped our fours would have done better," Horner said.
After facing the Tar Heels and 17th-ranked Clemson at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Championship in Oak Ridge, Tenn. a week ago Duke, was very familiar with its ACC competition and the seemingly insurmountable talent of both the Tigers and No. 12 Virginia.
All season long, the Blue Devils have rowed against some of the top teams in the country, including 11th-ranked Boston University and No. 6 Syracuse March 31 on the famed Charles River.
This season, Duke followed a schedule that Horner would have termed "discouraging" if not for the team's work ethic and growing leadership.
"It shows us what [level] we need to be at," Horner said. "But I think the varsity-eight raced as well this weekend because they have had to race top schools all season. They've just had to dig in and do it."
With an eye toward improving even further, Horner wants to use the remaining regattas and the beginning of next season to improve her rower's speed. Endurance has not been a problem for the well-drilled Blue Devils, but a lack of sprinting speed has often left Duke flat against its competition.
"I get impatient and want us to be fast immediately," Horner said. "The new kids next year will add speed [to the lineup] and we just need to come out and execute the entire race."
The Blue Devils will travel next to Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the NCAA regionals on May 12-13.
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