For the sixth-ranked Virginia first varsity eight crew, the game plan seemed to be going perfectly in its race against No. 1 Ohio State. With half of the race over, the Cavaliers held a two-seat advantage over the Buckeyes.
"We knew in the past that they've fallen behind early," Virginia's Lindsay Shoop said. "We wanted to kick their butt as soon as possible."
During the last 1,000 meters, however, the Buckeyes proved why they are the best in the country, surging ahead to edge the Cavalier boat of coxswain Betty Shumaker, Jen Reck, Shoop, Beth Clark, Kathryn Waller, Margaret Matia, Sara Lippa, Genevieve Cauchon-Voyer, and Melanie Kok by 4.9 seconds in the premier race of the ACC/Big Ten Double Duals at Lake Monticello Saturday.
Virginia received strong performances from their second varsity eight and first novice eight, each of which registered victories over both Ohio State and Michigan in the competition. The second varsity four and second novice eight Cavalier boats finished behind both Big Ten schools in their two races, while Virginia's first varsity four defeated Ohio State in the morning before falling to Michigan in the afternoon.
The first varsity eight bounced back from their morning loss to defeat the Wolverines in the afternoon by 1.8 seconds. The Cavaliers were ahead throughout the race -- at one point holding a full boat length advantage -- but a late sprint by the Wolverines significantly close the gap. Virginia managed to hold off this last-second Michigan surge to finish just ahead of the Wolverines.
"We knew that Michigan had had an easy race in the morning, and our race against Ohio State was tough, so we knew they had more gas in the tank," Shoop said. "At the end, we were hanging on by our fingernails; we just wanted to get across the line."
Virginia's second varsity eight had a much easier time, cruising to a four second victory over Ohio State and a 7.7 second win against Michigan. The Cavaliers (coxswain Danielle Sewell, Kerry Maher, Julie Creighton, Carolyn McMillan, Kelley Jesnig, Heather Gardner, Libby McCann, Katie Yrazabal, and Emily Richard) held the lead throughout the race against the Wolverines, slowly expanding the advantage throughout the race to pull ahead by more than a full boat length toward the finish.
The Cavalier first varsity four, made up of coxswain Karen Richardson, Jessica Haury, Yvonne Epp, Mary Dobmeier, and Renee Albers, crossed the finish line 3.9 seconds faster than Ohio State in the morning, but the boat saw an early three-seat lead over the Wolverines in the afternoon quickly deteriorate halfway through the race. The Wolverines were up by a full boat length 1,250 meters into the 2,000 meter competition. The Michigan advantage extended to greater than two and a half boat lengths, as the Wolverines won by more than eight seconds.
These three events (both varsity eights and the varsity four) will be the races that count in the NCAA Championships May 28-30. Before then the Cavaliers will compete against both of these Big Ten squads again, in the Central South regional competition May 15-16. All six events will count in the regional championship race. This means that Virginia's first varsity eight will have a few more chances to knock off the nation's top-ranked crew.
"It's just another motivator," Reck said. "The race was a wake-up call. We have to find some more sustainable speed."
With victory slipping just out of Virginia's hands Saturday, the alarm should be ringing loud and clear for the first varsity eight in late May.
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