The Cornell men's Varsity 8 squad pulled their way to victory over New Hampshire, Army and Dartmouth in their finals. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Weather was factor at regatta

Web posted March 22, 1998

 Results
 Rowers in search of recognition

By Tim Morse
Staff Writer

For Lakeside High School junior Morgan Epperly, the 15th annual Augusta Spring Regatta wasn't supposed to be that hard. But the swollen Savannah River and the gusty conditions on Saturday made life a nightmare for Epperly's crew as well as the rest of the teams competing.

Despite the high river level on the Savannah and wind gusts up to 15 miles an hour, an estimated 3,000 fans turned out.

``Yes, it was very hard out there,'' Epperly said. ``It (weather conditions) was excruciating.''

Epperly's crew, competing in the Junior Men's Varsity 8 class, took home the silver medal with a time of 5:59.1. They were edged by Tallahassee Leon's A team, which finished the 1,250-meter course in a time of 5:37.5.

``The conditions were rough and the weather was really bad,'' Epperly said. ``We usually go out and train for conditions like this. We got a little slogan that we say, `Train for the worst and hope for the best.' We had to do that today.''

The Cornell women's Jr. Varsity Eights pull in their finals heat, which they won handily over New Hamshire (2nd) and Skidmore (3rd), in the 15th annual Augusta Spring Regatta. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Epperly's crew, along with Leon High of Tallahassee, were the only two high school rowing teams that took part in the regatta. The two prep crews, who competed against each other in their own classes in both boys' and girls' competition, joined some 26 colleges and universities in the event.

And it wasn't any easier on the girls side for members of the Augusta A crew. Even though it took home the gold medal in the Junior Women's Varsity 8 class, the course, coupled with gusty winds and swift currents, proved to be anything but.

``It was very windy out there,'' said Kendra Poehling, a senior at Lakeside and a member of the Augusta A crew. ``I'm really glad the sun came out here because it was really cold this morning.''

But for both Epperly and Poehling, the Spring Regatta wasn't just a day for fun on the Savannah River. Since several college rowing coaches were at the regatta, they had their eyes on both the Leon and Augusta crews.

``I've been recruited by Princeton,'' Poehling said.Epperly said he fell in love with rowing when he was in the eighth grade and would love to attend college on a rowing scholarship.

``There's a lot of rich people up there and I think it would be good to go to school up there.''

The highlight of the day was in the Men's Varsity Eight where Cornell ended Dartmouth's reign as champions when the Big Red crew won with a time of 5:00.9. Dartmouth finished fourth behind New Hampshire and Army with a time of 5:23.

Results

JUNIOR MEN'S VARSITY EIGHT: Leon ``A,'' 5:37.5; Augusta, 5:59.1; Leon ``B,'' 6:52.1.

JUNIOR WOMEN'S VARSITY EIGHT: Augusta ``A,'' 6:00.2; Augusta ``B,'' 6:34.7; Leon ``A,'' 6:48.6; Leon ``B,'' 6:58.1.

WOMEN`S NOVICE FOUR: Bucknell 7:24.8; Augusta ``A,'' 7:57.7; Clemson 8:21.9; Georgia 8:35.5.

MEN`S NOVICE 4: Army 6:23.3; Duke 6:40.8; UNC-Wilmington 7:01.8; North Carolina State 7:10.0.

MEN`S NOVICE LIGHTWEIGHT EIGHT: Cornell 5:35.8; New Hampshire 5:40.1; North Carolina State 7:18.5.

WOMEN`S NOVICE EIGHT: Cornell ``B,'' 6:35.8; New Hampshire ``B,'' 7:01.3; John Hopkins ``B,'' 8:25.4; UNC-Wilmington ``B,'' 8:48.7.

WOMEN`S NOVICE EIGHT: Cornell 6:23.5; New Hampshire 6:38.7; Clemson 7:17.4; John Hopkins 7:17.7.

MEN`S NOVICE EIGHT: Cornell ``A,'' 4:59. 6; Cornell ``B,'' 5:00.1; Dartmouth ``A,'' 5:28.6; New Hampshire 5:49.0.

MEN`S NOVICE LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR: SUNY Maritime 6:36.2; Bucknell 7:06.6; Duke 7:07.8.

WOMEN`S NOVICE LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR: Alabama 7:38.2; UNC-Wilmington 8:23.8; Georgia ``A,'' 9:50.3.

MEN`S JUNIOR VARSITY EIGHT: Cornell 5:13.7; Dartmouth 5:25.3; Army 5:37.5; New Hampshire 5:45.7.

WOMEN`S JUNIOR VARSITY EIGHT: Cornell 6:17.5; New Hampshire 7:00.2; Skidmore 7:29.7.

MEN`S LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR: Tennessee-Chattanooga 6:01.6; Bucknell 6:11.4; College Charleston 6:30.7; John Hopkins 6:31.8.

WOMEN`S LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR: SUNY Maritime 7:15.2; Tennessee-Chattanooga 7:37.3; College of Charleston ``A,'' 8:58.7; College of Charleston ``B,'' 9:25.4.

WOMEN`S LIGHTWEIGHT EIGHT: Clemson 6:32.0; Bucknell 6:50.6; Georgia 8:40.1.

MEN`S LIGHTWEIGHT EIGHT: Cornell ``A,'' 4:58.2; Cornell ``B,'' 5:11.4; Duke 5:19.0; Clemson 7:02.4.

WOMEN`S VARSITY FOUR PETITE: Cornell ``B,'' 7:18. 7; Alabama 7:38.8; John Hopkins 7:44.4.

WOMEN`S VARSITY FOUR: Cornell ``A,'' 7:10.8; Bucknell 7:31.2; Duke ``A,'' 7:51.7; College of Charleston 8:52.7.

MEN`S VARSITY FOUR PETITE: Army 6:31.6; Armstrong Atlantic 7:28.0; Cazenovia 8:15.4.

MEN`S VARSITY FOUR: Bucknell 5:58.7; Duke ``A,'' 6:15.0; Skidmore 6:34.3; Vermont 6:49.9.

WOMEN`S VARSITY EIGHT PETITE: Skidmore 6:37.2; Vermont 7:13.0; Army 7:35.4.

WOMEN`S VARSITY EIGHT: Cornell 5:51.8; New Hampshire 6:09.1; Clemson 6:58.0.

MEN`S VARSITY EIGHT PETITE: Skidmore 5:46.2; Cornell ``B,'' 6:03.7; Clemson 6:14.4.

MEN`S VARSITY EIGHT: Cornell 5:00.9; New Hampshire 5:13.0; Army 5:13.7; Dartmouth 5:23.0.

MIXED MASTER FOUR: Augusta ``B,'' 9:15.1; Augusta ``C,'' 9:53.6; Augusta ``A,'' 9:57.5.