For the second straight week, the University of Minnesota has garnered Big Ten Boat of the Week honors for its performances in the past two weeks. This week's honor goes to the Gophers' First Varsity Eight as they defeated No. 9 Tennessee and No. 11 Notre Dame in a spring scrimmage in Knoxville, Tenn.

Minnesota coxswain Megan Flannery, Cheryl Wick at stroke, Berit Tomten, Jenny Barnes, Sally Olson, Vilma Stragyte, Erika Bartkute, Maggie Armstrong and Jenna Buskohl swept the First Varsity Eight competition against host No. 9 Tennessee and No. 11 Notre Dame last week. The Golden Gophers, who are ranked 13th in the USRowing/CRCA poll, defeated the Lady Vols and the Fighting Irish in all three rounds. The Gophers clocked times of 4:48.7 in the first round, 4:51.1 in the second and 4:53.9 in the third and final round to earn the weekend sweep. The Gophers' Second Varsity Eight won the award for its defeat over Louisville two weeks ago.

Minnesota is idle this weekend and returns to action on March 31, when it opens the Big Ten season in Iowa City, Iowa. The Gophers and the Iowa Hawkeyes will compete against each other, while Creighton and Drake will also race in the event.