As a light rain began to fall over Rivanna Reservoir yesterday morning, the Virginia women's crew team's four boat was in the midst of the second competitive race of the Rivanna Romp, the final fall meet for the Cavalier Crew team. Coming to the midpoint of the 4,000 meter course, Virginia was slightly ahead of the boat from Ohio State.
"We had a strong start. That was the strategy," Virginia senior Genevieve Cauchon-Voyer said. "The first part we walked on the other boat [Ohio State]. I was not shocked but I was excited to pass them because we thought they would be a faster boat and we would have to hang onto them longer."
Virginia came to the fan section with a slight lead, and the Virginia fans did what they could to help the team of Cauchon-Voyer and freshmen Melanie Kok, Yvonne Epp and Renee Albers. Also in the boat was coxswain Danielle Sewell, a sophomore.
"Coming to the dock, where all the fans are, was really exciting," Cauchon-Voyer said. "So we used them [the fans] to go harder."
Virginia continued to surge past the dock to a crucial turn under a bridge where crucial seconds can be won or lost.
"Danielle took an amazing turn," said Cauchon-Voyer of the turn made by Sewell.
The turn proved to be a major point in the race as Virginia four crew powered its way to a first place time of 14:56.3. Tennessee overtook Ohio State to claim second place in the race and the Buckeyes faded to a disappointing third place finish.
"I really tried to set the turn up so we could get to the bridge quickly," Sewell said. "It's important to be able to whip it around and get a straight shot."
Virginia's success in the varsity four race was atonement for a second place finish in the varsity eight race earlier in the morning. The varsity eight race was down to the wire, with the top three teams finishing within four seconds of each other. Ohio State was able to win with a time of 13:07.6. Virginia edged out Tennessee for second place by 0.8 seconds.
Despite the earlier disappointment, Virginia coach Kevin Sauer was happy with the day's performance.
"We didn't race that well in the varsity eight race, but we went out and won the four," Sauer said. "We showed a lot of depth. We saw where we are at and we have to take that into winter training and the main spring season."
The younger members of the four team received praise from Cauchon-Voyer and Sewell.
"Those girls are really good athletes," Cauchon-Voyer said. "They're really new to a lot of this, so we as seniors have to pass everything down. We really want to get them ready for the spring season"
Sewell was equally impressed with the younger members of the boat.
"We got some amazing recruits this year, so I think we are going to have a really good year," Sewell said.
Virginia finished the fall portion of its season with two strong performances.Last week, at the Head of the Lake Regatta the Virginia eight crew finished third in a tough field that included 16 teams.
"With last week and today we showed that we can compete with anyone," said coach Sauer. "It was good fall racing."
Having completed the fall portion of the schedule, the Virginia crew team now starts its winter training and will not compete again until March 27.
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