Ferdelman, Jeffery Snag SEC Weekly Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a standout showing at the Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, a pair of Tennessee rowers have swept the weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference, as announced by the league office Wednesday afternoon.

Senior Riley Ferdelman was named the SEC Rower of the Week, while Ariella Jeffery earned Freshman of the Week honors.

In Saturday's race at the Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, Ferdelman and the Lady Vols' first varsity eight crew earned a marquee win over No. 3 Washington and four other top-14 teams. The boat clocked a final time of 6:20.834 to cross the line first, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of No. 3 Washington (6:22.568) and comfortably ahead of No. 7 Brown (6:29.397), No. 12 Michigan (6:30.702), No. 11 Penn (6:32.431) and No. 14 Ohio State (6:36.266).

The day prior, Ferdelman, positioned in the six seat for the weekend, and Tennessee's first varsity eight crew opened the weekend with a dominant performance, crossing the line in 6:14.654 to beat No. 14 Ohio State by nearly nine seconds, putting down the second-fastest time of any boat in the field on day one. The Lady Vols maintained control throughout, also finishing ahead of No. 17 Oregon State and three others.

In the Friday afternoon session, Tennessee's 1V8+ group earned its second victory of the day in as many races. The crew clocked in at 6:15.157 to conquer No. 9 Rutgers by five seconds. The Lady Vols also finished over 10 seconds ahead of No. 11 Penn and No. 12 Michigan, while SMU trailed the field.

Jeffery was positioned in the three-seat of the second varsity eight crew over the weekend, as the crew enjoyed a successful Big Ten Invitational by securing two victories at the event. In the Friday morning session, Jeffery and UT posted a commanding win, clocking in at 6:27.128—more than 11 seconds ahead of second-place UCLA.

Jeffery and the Lady Vol 2V8+ continued Tennessee's winning trend Friday afternoon, crossing in 6:28.438 for another comfortable victory. The Lady Vols built a margin of nearly six seconds on Rutgers and almost 10 on No. 12 Michigan, while Penn and SMU finished in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Up next, Tennessee heads to Princeton, New Jersey, for a Saturday, April 26, regatta that will be hosted by Princeton and will also include Ohio State and Syracuse.

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University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Riley Ferdelman

Ariella Jeffery

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