The US collegiate women’s rowing is currently amid an electrifying racing season as programs get ready for the most important race of the year coming up in less than three weeks. As teams across the country converge on the water, we are treated to an exhilarating display of speed, power and sheer determination showcasing how competitive collegiate rowing currently is. It’s a thrilling time to be a part of the collegiate rowing community, where the pursuit of victory drives athletes to push themselves to their limits and beyond.
April 26th
Lake Wheeler Invitational day 1
#5 Tennessee made a big statement during Friday morning racing, winning each of its 10 races on day one. Tennessee’s varsity eight put down the fastest time of the day with an impressive final time of 6:23.4. #11 Penn clocked a time of 6:28.5, while #10 Syracuse placed third with a time of 6:30.2.
April 27th
Case Cup
The #6 Yale women’s crew was dominant in its final race of the regular season against #20 Harvard Radcliffe, retaining the Case Cup trophy for the 11th year. They swept all races against Radcliffe, the Yale varsity eight posting a strong time of 6:21.9, with Radcliffe crossing the finish time at 6:29.6. The closest race of the morning was in the varsity four, Yale winning by 4 seconds.
Longhorn Invite
#2 Texas collected victories in the 1V, 2V and 3V in competition against #1 Stanford, #12 Virginia and #14 Ohio State. Racing against many of the top programs in the nation, we knew this invite was one to watch. However, Texas collected three major victories on their home turf at Lake Walter E. Long. Racing was impacted by high crosswinds on the course which forced an adjusted schedule in which the teams’ three NCAA boats – first eight, second eight, first four – competed in two heats instead of one grand finale. Texas went head-to-head against Stanford in heat one and Ohio State and Virginia raced in heat two. Texas was victorious crossing the finish line in 6:00.9 to win by open water over Stanford who posted a time of 6:03.3. Ohio State was the winner in heat two, posting a time of 6:20.9 with Virginia taking second in 6:26.7.
Lake Wheeler Invitational day 2
Day 2 saw fast racing with #5 Tennessee rowing ream sweeping its five races during the third round of the Lake Wheeler Invitational to earn the Pocock Lake Wheeler Invitational Cup in dominant fashion. In the whole weekend, Tennessee saw very strong performances with winning all their races. Duke following closely behind, with UCF finishing in third place. Tennessee’s varsity eight crew posted a very convincing victory on Saturday, crossing the line in 6:26.4. This was 13.8 seconds faster than #18 Washington State and 16.3 seconds ahead of Alabama.
Dexter Lake Invite
Gonzaga women’s crew team had a successful race against ranked opponents at the Dexter Lake invite hosted by Oregon State. In the Varsity eight race, Gonzaga finished first with a time of 6:29.5 over UCLA, #17 Oregon State, USC, Oklahoma and LMU.
Kelly Cup
The Temple Women’s Rowing program defended its home turf on the Schuylkill River, claiming the Kelly Cup title for the first time since 2006. Temple was dominant throughout the entire regatta, winning four out of the five races, competing against St Joseph’s, Drexel, La Salle and Jefferson. In the Varsity eight, Temple crossed the finish line with a time of 6:57, St Joseph’s following closely behind, crossing the finish line 4 seconds later, with La Salle coming in third.
After checking off the last of regular season racing, all eyes look forward to conference championships.
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