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The top-ranked Virginia rowing team won its 12th ACC Championship in 13 years. The first Varsity Eight was named ACC Crew of the Year and head coach Kevin Sauer was honored as the ACC Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year, and eighth time in his career.
Virginia relied on a come-from-behind effort in order to Clemson heading into the final race, as Clemson took an early lead by capturing the First Varsity Four race. But the final race wasn't even close, as the Hoos' First Varsity Eight powered ahead with a finishing time of 6:27.9, almost 11 seconds ahead of Clemson.
Virginia led the 2012 All-ACC Rowing team with five rowers, including Sidney Thorsten, Keziah Beall, Martha Kuzzy, Kristine O'Brien and Sarah Cowburn. This was coxswain Sidney Thorsten's third straight All-ACC honor, having led the First Varsity Eight to an ACC title in each of the past three years.
Read the official VirginiaSports.com release for individual results.
The season, of course, is not over for the Hoos, who travel to Columbus, Ohio next weekend to face Ohio State, Michigan and Harvard. Virginia will then compete in the Eastern Spirits in New Jersey, before finally reaching the NCAA Championships at the end of May.