OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (April 19, 2025) - Day two of the SIRA Regatta has wrapped up and the Rollins Women did what they showed up to do. The three boats (WV8, WV4 and W2-) were up against Division 1 teams as well as some of the top women's club teams in the country. The time trials on Friday seeded the crews setting things up for some tight racing on Saturday. The WV8 finished first in their petite final, the W4 placed fourth in their petite final and the Women's Pair was able to bring home a second place medal for the TARS
After posting the second fastest time in their time trials, the women's pair (
Erin Hughes,
Morgan Lane) went out and backed up their row on Friday. They blasted off the line dead straight, unlike some of their competition, and put themselves in second place very early. With some excellent steering from Hughes in bow and the connection to her pair partner Lane, Rollins held a solid second place the entire way down the 2000m course. Tampa worked and worked to make up some ground of the Tars but Rollins continued their push to win the silver medal.
The Women's Varsity 4, which had three first-year rowers in the boat, rowed an incredible semi and backed that up with a great Petite final race. These ladies put themselves in the hunt through the first 1000m by keeping their bow even with the entire field. At the 1500m mark, the boat kept pushing but just could not hold off the surge of K-State B, Louisville B and Jacksonville. They ended up crossing the line fourth just one second behind Jacksonville and 14 seconds ahead of Stetson.
The women's varsity 8 had the closest race of the day for the TARS. The photo finish you see on this page was Rollins winning the petite final and beating George Mason by .1 second and .3 seconds ahead of Washington University. The Tars posted the fifth-fastest time out of the 11 crews entered, beating Stetson and Purdue's time in the grand final. This race was exciting from start to finish. Rollins was about a half seat down through 750 meters. They were battling between second and third and fighting like crazy to get their bow ball into the lead. After crossing the 1000m point, Rollins buckled down and flipped the switch. They went into the race to win and the nine women found another gear. From the 1200m point to the 1750, Rollins started eating into the George Mason boat who had led the entire time. The last 250 the lead was changing every single stroke. As the crews crossed the line no one knew the finish order nor could they have foreseen the .3 second difference between first and third. "This is the type of race these ladies will never forget." said Coach Thompson. "Today was huge going into our conference championship on Friday."
Rollins is back on the water Friday in Sarasota for the Sunshine State Conference Championship. Rollins will be rowing the Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 as they continue their quest towards and NCAA bid. The team is still ranked sixth and the TARS are the keepers of their own fate for post season rowing. Rollins Women are in an exciting position and look forward to the continued challenge.
