IRVING, TEXAS - The 2010 Conference USA Women's Rowing Championship is set to get underway Saturday at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the finals for the inaugural event held Sunday.
This year's championship will be held in conjunction with the Aramark South/Central Region Sprints. Preliminary heats begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday on the 2,000-meter course. C-USA will determine the 2010 winners in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four events according to the South/Central results. Team and individual awards will be presented at the Conference USA awards ceremony following the regional regatta.
Conference USA has three full-time members that sponsor women's rowing: SMU, Tulsa and UCF. Six additional programs serve as affiliate members in the league as C-USA welcomes Alabama, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Tennessee enters the weekend as the No. 3 team in the NCAA South Region rankings, with the Lady Vols Varsity 8 also ranked third and their Second Varsity 8 is at the top of the regional chart. UCF, Texas and Oklahoma follow close behind in the team rankings at fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Kansas' Second Varsity 8 crew is also ranked among the Top 6, while Alabama's Varsity 4 enters the championship weekend ranked fourth and Tulsa is sixth.
Beginning in 2011, the C-USA Rowing Championship will be held as a separate event among just the nine members.