The 2011 fall season came to a satisfying end this weekend for the North Carolina rowing team.
The Tar Heels finished the fall race circuit at the Head of the Chattahoochee Regatta on Saturday and Sunday in Chattanooga, Tennessee, placing 8th and 12th in the women’s championship 4 and 8 races, respectively.
Despite facing strong competition from a number of fast programs, UNC was able to accomplish its goal of improving on last year’s finish in the same race.
“We really wanted to see improvement from last year,” assistant coach Brie Tyler said. “We wanted to finish in the top half.”
North Carolina not only achieved the top-half finish in both races, but it broke into the top 10 in the 4 race.
“The goal for the individual boats was (to place in the) top 10,” senior Blair Meiggs said. “We got it with the 4 boat…. (it’s a) feeling of accomplishment.”
The UNC seniors — Meiggs, Emma Shaw and Kathleen Reynolds — were key contributors in the weekend’s competition.
“As a senior and a captain, it’s like eyes are always on you. You need to lead by example,” Meiggs said. “I think all of the seniors on the team are doing that.”
After a fulfilling fall season, the Tar Heels will now begin training for the spring circuit.
“We want to continue the success we have had in the fall just in terms of improving place in races,” Tyler said. “We want to see if the speed we raced with this fall can carry over to the spring season.”
If so, UNC will likely be a solid squad in the future.
“I think we ended the fall season on a good note,” Meiggs said. “We want to carry (the momentum) to the spring season and build a program to the caliber that we want to be at.”
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