Rowing Places Fifth At Conference Championship
Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 9:01 pmFrom SMUMustangs.com:
Mustangs Place Fifth At Conference Championship
Varsity 8+ Fourth In Grand Final, 2nd Varsity 8+ Wins Petite Final
May 17, 2015
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. (SMU) -- Led by a fourth-place finish in the Varsity 8+ event, the SMU rowing team placed fifth at the American Athletic Conference Championship held on Mercer Lake Sunday. During the awards presentation, sophomore Savannah Moody was named first-team All-AAC, while junior Miranda Zsigmond was a second-team honoree.
The event began with morning time trials, which placed each team in either the event's Grand or Petite Final depending on final times.
The Mustang Varsity 8+ crew clocked in at 6:48.499, its fastest time of the season, and finished just three seconds off third-place Sacramento State's time in the final. UCF won the event, with Tulsa finishing second.
"I'm pleased with today, the fact that we finished fourth in the 1v, I'm happy with that and satisfied," head coach Doug Wright said. "It's a big improvement from last year. As a program, I'm really pleased with the progress we've made with recruiting and acquiring talent on campus.
"We're still very much a developmental group, but the fact that they stayed with us this year and learned how to race, is a positive. Next fall we can slow things down and teach them how to move a boat rather than row and will make a big difference in where we go next year."
In the 2v, SMU won the Petite Final, finishing over 16 seconds ahead of second-place Villanova with a time of 7:15.473.
The Ponies had crews in both the Varsity 4+ and 2nd Varsity 4+, with the 1v squad advancing to the Grand Final, and the 2v making an appearance in the Petite Final. The Grand Final saw the Mustangs place sixth in 8:00.440, while SMU occupied the runner-up spot in the 2v Petite Final at 9:01.272.
Moody and Zsigmond, who were both part of the Mustangs' Varsity 8+ crew, earned all-conference accolades. This is the second straight season Zsigmond was selected by the conference, as she earned second-team honors in 2014.
"Two remarkable athletes," Wright said. "Their leadership and technical ability, and fitness and drive is incredible. The goal is to get a higher place finish in conference so we can have more selections, because there are a lot of people on this team that deserve all-conference, but those two are stepping up and leading the way."
UCF was the event champion with 198 points, followed by Tulsa (189) and Sacramento State (160) rounding out the top three. Temple (107), finished just ahead of the Mustangs (91) in the third spot, and San Diego State (88), Connecticut (70) and Villanova (52) finished in order. With the win, the Knights earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in Sacramento, California, May 29-31.
Varsity 8+
Cox: Molly O'Connell
8 Kelly McGowan
7 Lauren Vanek
6 Chantelle Conley
5 Miranda Zsigmond
4 Hanna Axene
3 Alyssa Sands
2 Savannah Moody
1 Lindsay Heyman
2nd Varsity 8+
Cox: Stephanie Gentile
8 Madeline Horton
7 Eki Olumese
6 Brittany Courteau
5 Angelica Greene
4 Ashley Wagner
3 Jo Parmer
2 Hannah Dart
1 Meghan Klein
Varsity 4+
Cox: Madelaine Rueda
1 Sophi Farid
2 Paige Papesch
3 Colleen Tautkus
4 Dominique Conley
2nd Varsity 4+
Cox: Moyra Tran
1 Katherine Linares
2 Amber Long
3 Shelby Hill
4 Alexandra Savoca
Mustangs Place Fifth At Conference Championship
Varsity 8+ Fourth In Grand Final, 2nd Varsity 8+ Wins Petite Final
May 17, 2015
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. (SMU) -- Led by a fourth-place finish in the Varsity 8+ event, the SMU rowing team placed fifth at the American Athletic Conference Championship held on Mercer Lake Sunday. During the awards presentation, sophomore Savannah Moody was named first-team All-AAC, while junior Miranda Zsigmond was a second-team honoree.
The event began with morning time trials, which placed each team in either the event's Grand or Petite Final depending on final times.
The Mustang Varsity 8+ crew clocked in at 6:48.499, its fastest time of the season, and finished just three seconds off third-place Sacramento State's time in the final. UCF won the event, with Tulsa finishing second.
"I'm pleased with today, the fact that we finished fourth in the 1v, I'm happy with that and satisfied," head coach Doug Wright said. "It's a big improvement from last year. As a program, I'm really pleased with the progress we've made with recruiting and acquiring talent on campus.
"We're still very much a developmental group, but the fact that they stayed with us this year and learned how to race, is a positive. Next fall we can slow things down and teach them how to move a boat rather than row and will make a big difference in where we go next year."
In the 2v, SMU won the Petite Final, finishing over 16 seconds ahead of second-place Villanova with a time of 7:15.473.
The Ponies had crews in both the Varsity 4+ and 2nd Varsity 4+, with the 1v squad advancing to the Grand Final, and the 2v making an appearance in the Petite Final. The Grand Final saw the Mustangs place sixth in 8:00.440, while SMU occupied the runner-up spot in the 2v Petite Final at 9:01.272.
Moody and Zsigmond, who were both part of the Mustangs' Varsity 8+ crew, earned all-conference accolades. This is the second straight season Zsigmond was selected by the conference, as she earned second-team honors in 2014.
"Two remarkable athletes," Wright said. "Their leadership and technical ability, and fitness and drive is incredible. The goal is to get a higher place finish in conference so we can have more selections, because there are a lot of people on this team that deserve all-conference, but those two are stepping up and leading the way."
UCF was the event champion with 198 points, followed by Tulsa (189) and Sacramento State (160) rounding out the top three. Temple (107), finished just ahead of the Mustangs (91) in the third spot, and San Diego State (88), Connecticut (70) and Villanova (52) finished in order. With the win, the Knights earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in Sacramento, California, May 29-31.
Varsity 8+
Cox: Molly O'Connell
8 Kelly McGowan
7 Lauren Vanek
6 Chantelle Conley
5 Miranda Zsigmond
4 Hanna Axene
3 Alyssa Sands
2 Savannah Moody
1 Lindsay Heyman
2nd Varsity 8+
Cox: Stephanie Gentile
8 Madeline Horton
7 Eki Olumese
6 Brittany Courteau
5 Angelica Greene
4 Ashley Wagner
3 Jo Parmer
2 Hannah Dart
1 Meghan Klein
Varsity 4+
Cox: Madelaine Rueda
1 Sophi Farid
2 Paige Papesch
3 Colleen Tautkus
4 Dominique Conley
2nd Varsity 4+
Cox: Moyra Tran
1 Katherine Linares
2 Amber Long
3 Shelby Hill
4 Alexandra Savoca