Cardinals Improve in Final Round of Lake Wheeler Invitational

Saturday, April 25

Raleigh, NC

University of Louisville

Lake Wheeler Invite

Rowing team cheering on teammates at Lake Wheeler Invitational

Cardinals Improve in Final Round of Lake Wheeler Invitational

April 25, 2026 | Rowing

Four Louisville crews turned in their best times of the weekend, earning second-place finishes in their heats

By: Dana Brown

RALEIGH, N.C. – University of Louisville rowing wrapped up the third and final round of the Lake Wheeler Invitational on Saturday morning.

"The team showed its growth in depth at this regatta this year," said associate head coach Ed Oxlade. "It is encouraging to see the margins on our competitors tighten to those programs ahead and maintain or increase to those chasing us hard and keeping us honest. We tell the team regularly that we move forward by incremental growth, which is sometimes hard to see. They are certainly doing that and the opportunities to make an impact at the ACC Championships will present themselves if we keep working hard and squeezing our margins daily in training."

The Lake Wheeler Invitational is set up in three rounds with team scoring based off top three finishes in each event, each round. The top three finishes in the V8, 2V8, 3V8, V4 and 2V4 are each assigned a different point total. Louisville earned 37 points in total, finishing eighth out of the 20 teams in the field.

Four of Louisville's five boats finished second in their heats on Saturday. The Cardinals' Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8, Varsity 4 and Second Varsity 4 turned in their best times of the weekend in the final round to earn those second-place finishes.

The V8 boat finished in 6:34.770 to place second in its heat just behind SMU. The 2V8 crew placed behind the Mustangs in their race as well, turning in a time of 6:45.270.

"It was a really fun weekend," said V8 seven-seat Claire Carver-Ritter. "I've never seen the team perform at Lake Wheeler as well as we did this weekend. It was fun to watch our 4's be competitive in their races and the consistency from the program throughout the weekend made me proud of my team and happy to be a Cardinal."

"This weekend provided an honest reflection of where we stand as a program right now," said V8 six-seat Haley Kunz. "Across the board, each boat performed in line with expectations, and we saw measurable progress against ACC opponents, tightening margins in key races. A few of the standout performances came from the 4's which built a lot of momentum for the team."

The Varsity 4 boat was the other to finish in second in its heat, behind SMU, with a time of 7:23.170, its fastest result of the weekend. The crew had slight alterations to its lineup over the three rounds, but the boat Saturday morning was led by coxswain Zoe Desserich, Angels Ventura Rodriguez, Ellie Fazio, Addie Clark and Keira Krebs. Louisville's 2V4 finished just behind an Oklahoma team at 7:32.100.

"I was really excited going into this weekend because the coaches and upperclassmen have referenced this regatta a lot throughout the season, and it definitely didn't disappoint," said Desserich. "The energy from my boat and the team were contagious and it showed out on the water. We have worked so hard up until this point, and I am so excited to see how much more this team can grow!"

"This was a very successful weekend for our team as a whole," said Krebs. "We had some really tight races against other competitive teams and ACC opponents. My boat beat ranked Oklahoma on Friday morning which was very exciting! We put our all into every stroke and had solid performances, and we plan to keep this momentum heading into ACC Championships."

Louisville will return to Raleigh and Lake Wheeler for the ACC Championship on May 15 and 16.

"As a captain," added Kunz, "I'm very excited to lead this energy into the next couple of weeks as we prepare for the ACC Championships."

"Through the team, I believe we showed a consistency and authenticity that has eluded us in times past," Oxlade continued. "It puts us in a solid position to continue to grow over the next three weeks and show up in what promises to be the fastest ACC Rowing Championships in years."

Saturday Morning (Round 3) Results
V8
1 – SMU (6:29.560); 2 – Louisville (6:34.770); 3 – Tulsa (6:37.250); 4 – Boston College (6:43.010); 5 – Georgetown (6:51.550); 6 – Old Dominion (6:54.720)

2V8
1 – SMU (6:39.920); 2 – Louisville (6:45.270); 3 – Boston College (6:47.280); 4 – Tulsa (6:50.060); 5 – Georgetown (6:52.700); 6 – Old Dominion (7:13.160)

3V8
1 – North Carolina 4V8 (6:49.700); 2 – Boston College (6:55.560); 3 – SMU (7:00.570); 4 – Louisville (7:01.310); 5 – Georgetown (7:19.070)

V4
1 – SMU (7:20.940); 2 – Louisville (7:23.170); 3 – Boston College (7:24.380); 4 – Georgetown (7:31.960); 5 – Tulsa (7:38.060); 6 – Old Dominion (8:14.190)

2V4
1 – Oklahoma 3V4 (7:31.580); 2 – Louisville (7:32.100); 3 – Georgetown (7:32.890); 4 – SMU (7:34.610); 5 – Boston College (7:40.450); 6 – Tulsa (7:54.870)

Lineups
Varsity 8
Coxswain – Olivia Guarnaccia
8 – Macy Whisenand
7 – Claire Carver-Ritter
6 – Haley Kunz
5 – Grace Rodebaugh
4 – Emma Bell
3 – Anna Brennan
2 – Lexi Bernard
1 – Clara Jane Van Dyk

Second Varsity 8
Coxswain – Hannah Cease
8 – Mary Noschang
7 – Lauren Stedry
6 – Cierra Chavez
5 – Katherine Cromly
4 – Maya Lawrie
3 – Bradlie Hicks
2 – Jana Berelsmann
1 – Dorka Szabo

Third Varsity 8
Coxswain – Madelyn Pleune
8 – Alana Cureton
7 – Graycen West
6 – Kate Eisenbeis
5 – Stella Scott
4 – Stella Mancini
3 – Addison Sorrell
2 – Claudia Smith
1 – Rhiannon Hockey

Varsity 4
4 – Angels Ventura Rodriguez
3 – Ellie Fazio
2 – Addie Clark
1 – Keira Krebs
Coxswain – Zoe Desserich

Second Varsity 4
4 – Olivia Koproski
3 – Amelia Robinson
2 – Wilkey Smith
1 – Bria Ragauckas
Coxswain – Cecilia Kern