OAK RIDGE, TENN. - The High Point University women's rowing team completed its race at the SIRA as the Panthers had all four boats compete in the finals. 

Head Coach Jessica Deitrick: "This weekend the team was able to line up against well-established teams three times over the course of two days. Our goal as a team was to get our top 3 boats into the A finals and we did that! Our 2v4+ had to race in the 1v4+ category and they showed good improvement, especially in their semifinal on Friday afternoon. The 1v8+, 2v8+ and 1v4+ made good progress from our last race down in Florida at the end of March. In the finals we came up just short of what we were aiming for, but we are excited to get back to work this week as we prepare for our final race in Michigan. Overall, I am really proud of the progress this team has made over the course of our first year and we are all excited for the future!"

High Point had four boats competing in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta as Deitrick sent out a varsity 4+, varsity 8+, second varsity 4+, and a second varsity 8+. 

On Friday, the Panthers competed for a spot in the semifinals, aiming to qualify for the finals. In the second Varsity 8 time trials, the Panthers finished in front of five power-four universities. After successful time trials for all four boats, HPU advanced to race in evening semifinals. The Varsity 4 posted a qualifying time of 7:58.655 (Bowdish, M.). The Varsity 8 also secured a place in the finals with a time of 7:47.244 (Enright, C.) The final Varsity 8 boat was scheduled to race Saturday morning closing out the semifinals. Once that race concluded, all three boats moved on to prepare for the A finals later that afternoon.

Saturday morning, HPU opened finals competition with the Varsity 4, led by Lucia Calvert, which won the C final with a time of 8:36.368 (Rogness, S.). The remaining two Varsity 8 boats and one Varsity 4 went on to compete in the A finals. The first Varsity 4, led by Carolyn Fox, finished sixth in its A final with a time of 7:58.066 (Bowdish, M.), just three seconds behind University of Tampa. The second Varsity 8, led by Grayson Williams, placed fourth with a time of 7:26.655 (Enright, C.). In the final race of the day, the last Varsity 8 boat, also secured fourth place out of six, clocking in at 7:10.257 (Sullivan, M). 

Up Next: High Point will finish its inaugural season with a race at the Ford Lake Invite hosted by Easteern Michigan University on April 26.