Duke Claims Silver Medal at ACC Championship

Saturday, May 15

Clemson, S.C.

Duke University

Day Two at ACC Championship

Duke Claims Silver Medal at ACC Championship

5/15/2021 1:52:00 PM | Rowing

RESULTS

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Duke rowing team finished second in the Varsity Eight, Varsity Four and Third Varsity Eight Grand Finals, while the Second Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Four each placed third as the Blue Devils claimed a silver medal on Saturday at the ACC Championship on Lake Hartwell.

Duke entered the final race of the day trailing Syracuse by one point in the team standings, with the V8 deciding which side would earn silver. The Blue Devils' top boat came through with a runner-up time of 6:30.266, besting the Orange by just over a second to vault Duke ahead. That V8 race to close out competition proved to be the most exciting of the weekend, as the Blue Devils were just 0.8 seconds in front of Syracuse at the 1,500-meter mark. With each team sprinting towards the line, Duke was able to build on its slim lead and secure the team's silver medal.

The Blue Devils registered 84 points, while ACC Champion Virginia posted 99 and Syracuse finished with 81. Clemson (64 points), Notre Dame (54), Miami (40), Louisville (29), Boston College (24) and North Carolina (19) rounded out the final standings.

The Blue Devils garnered an ACC silver medal for the seventh time in program history. Duke puts itself in strong position to earn a bid to the NCAA Championships in Sarasota, Fla., held May 28-30. Each of the program's two prior appearances at NCAAs have come under head coach Megan Cooke Carcagno (2016, 2019).

"I knew the V8 would race well, but I don't know if they knew how much their performance mattered for the team's overall point total or our opportunity to be considered for the postseason," Cooke Carcagno said. "They raced really well – confident and methodical. They are young and inexperienced in the collegiate sense, but they have so much intensity, heart and instinct as racers, and it shows."

For the second consecutive morning, the 3V8 crew gave Duke a strong start, as it took silver with a time of 7:07.461. The 3V8 lineup, coxed by sophomore Nikita Suri, jumped out of the starting line and held a narrow lead over Virginia at the 500-meter mark, but the Cavaliers would finish with an impressive sprint for a time of 7:01.449. The Blue Devils crossed the finish line nearly six seconds faster than third-place Syracuse (7:13.449).

The 2V4 squad held pace with Virginia and Syracuse through the first 1,500 meters, finding itself in position to take second with a quarter of the course left. The Orange battled back however, and put their bow ball ahead of Duke's by a razor-thin margin of 0.6 seconds. The Blue Devils responded with a second-place showing in the V4, as the crew's time of 7:34.402 edged out Syracuse's 7:36.312.

The 2V8 Grand Final saw the Orange regain the upper hand in the standings, as they clocked a runner-up time of 6:36.454. 7.3 ticks ahead of Duke's 6:43.776.

Three members of the V8 crew were presented All-ACC honors during the post-regatta awards ceremony. Juniors Gabriella Salvati and Sydney Johnson, who sat three seat and four seat, respectively, were named to the All-ACC First Team for the first time in their careers. Graduate student Tara Fagan picked up Second Team status for the second time, as she came home with the honor following the 2019 conference championship. Duke now has 44 all-time selections to the All-ACC teams.

"The team needed today to be really good to repeat our performance from 2019," Cooke Carcagno said. "Despite the setbacks we've faced all spring, they came together and did it today. I'm so proud of them."

The 2021 NCAA Rowing Championship selection show is set to be held Tuesday, May 18 at 5 p.m., and will be streamed on NCAA.com. More information will be available on GoDuke.com prior to the event.

V8+ Grand Final
1. Virginia – 6:25.552
2. Duke – 6:30.266
3. Syracuse – 6:31.650
4. Clemson – 6:35.622
5. Miami – 6:38.878
6. Notre Dame – 6:41.208

2V8+ Grand Final
1. Virginia – 6:34.586
2. Syracuse – 6:36.454
3. Duke – 6:43.776
4. Notre Dame – 6:51.262
5. Clemson – 6:51.330
6. Miami – 6:56.770

V4+ Grand Final
1. Virginia – 7:25.204
2. Duke – 7:34.402
3. Syracuse – 7:36.312
4. Clemson – 7:40.186
5. Notre Dame – 7:42.886
6. Louisville – 7:50.772

2V4+ Grand Final
1. Virginia – 7:40.481
2. Syracuse – 7:43.991
3. Duke – 7:44.505
4. Clemson – 7:48.123
5. Notre Dame – 7:50.443
6. North Carolina – 8:02.209

3V8+ Grand Final
1. Virginia – 7:01.449
2. Duke – 7:07.461
3. Syracuse – 7:13.449
4. Clemson – 7:15.525
5. Notre Dame – 7:18.045
6. Miami – 7:26.761

Lineups
V8 – Tara Fagan (Cox), Lauren Sizemore (Stroke), Amelia Shunk, Megan Lee, Morgan Linsley, Sydney Johnson, Gabriella Salvati, Brenna Morley, McKendree Densel (Bow)

2V8 – Ithika Senthilnathan (Cox), Rachel McNutt (Stroke), Sydney Cikovic, Grace Butero, Erin Heyeck, Ema Kuczura, Savannah Herbek, Meera Chakrabarti, Caeley Tierney (Bow)

V4 – Sarah Royka (Cox), Rivca Chaver (Stroke), Kathryn Nash, Emilie Lijesen, Stella Haley (Bow)

2V4 – Megan Knauer (Cox), Laura Navarrete (Stroke), Kelsey Lackey, Paige Knudsen, Mia Johnson (Bow)

3V8 – Nikita Suri (Cox), Olivia Hunt (Stroke), Charlotte Sendek, Ryleigh Katstra, Shae Simpson, Marisella Adams-Grimaldi, Caitlyn Carlisle, Reed Kenny, Sarah Hubner (Bow)

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