Rowing Wins Afternoon Varsity Eight Race in Day One of Wheeler Invitational
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 26, 2024) – The Washington State women's rowing team had a great first day at the Lake Wheeler Invitational. The Cougs won the afternoon Varsity Eight to go along with three third-place finishes, two fourth-place finishes and two fifth-place finishes.
Morning Session
The Cougars started the morning session off with a third-place finish in the second varsity four race, in which they finished with a time of 8:06.154. The Cougars were in the middle of the pack between Syracuse (7:44.554) and Georgetown (8:07.878) for most of the race. Tennessee won the 2V4 with a time of 7:36.468.
The second race of the morning for Washington State was the varsity four, in which the Cougs finished in fourth place with a time of 7:55.589. They outpaced the boats of Boston (7:59.83) and Georgetown (8.06.96) while also keeping it close to the front of the pack. Tennessee won the race with a time of 7:30.541.
Washington State's second varsity eight crew finished in fifth place with a time of 7:07.303. The race started with all six boats within a boat's length of each other for about 500 meters. The front three boats pulled away after about 1,000 meters, but the Cougs and Boston (7:04.872) kept it close until the end for the fourth-place position. Boston would ultimately cross the finish in front but the Cougars put up a good fight. Tennessee won the race with a time of 6:37.341.
The last race of the morning session was the first varsity eight in which the Cougs finished in fourth with a time of 6:41.884. The Cougs and Terriers were about half a length apart for almost the entire race until WSU pulled to about a boat's length ahead in the final 500 meters. Tennessee won the race with a time of 6:23.438.
Afternoon Session
In what was the final race of the afternoon, the Cougs put up a first-place victory with a time of 6:53.353 in the first varsity eight. After the first 500 meters, the Cougs were in a tight battle with Duke for the first-place position. The two crews were roughly even going into the second half of the race, but with 250 meters to go, Washington State pulled ahead by about a half-length over the Duke (6:56.271) crew.
Washington State started the afternoon session with a fifth-place finish in the second varsity four race. After the first 500 meters the Cougs and UCF were in a close battle for second, within a boat's length of each other. Towards the end of the race, Georgetown (8:15.648) and Navy (8:22.022) caught up to the Cougs, which left WSU to finish fifth with a time of 8:24.774. Duke won the race with a time of 7:55.302.
In the first varsity four race, the Cougars finished third with a time of 7:54.915. All six crews got off to a close start with Duke pulling away after the first 500 meters. WSU, Georgetown, and Navy were all battling for the third-place position going into the final 1000 meters. The Cougs finished the race strong and completed the race about half a boat's length in front of Navy (7:58.177), who was close behind in fourth. Duke won the race with a time of 7:38.665.
The second varsity eight race brought some excitement for WSU as they finished third with a time of 7:17.866. The Cougars and Louisville were competing for the third-place position for most of the race, and with 750 meters to go, Washington State increased its lead on the Louisville (7:23.554) boat to make it about a boat's length difference. The Cougs stayed on the tail of the second-place finisher, UCF (7:10.918), not letting them lead by more than one and a half boat's lengths. Duke won the race with a time of 7:05.350.
The Cougs will continue their weekend tomorrow morning at the Lake Wheeler Invitational. Washington State will race in Heat 2 with Alabama, Iowa, Tennessee, Miami, and Boston.
Friday's Morning Results
2V4+
1) Tennessee – 7:36.468
2) Syracuse – 7:44.554
3) Washington State – 8:06.154 (Makenna Bylund, Mackenzie Shipley, Abby Cady, Natalie Spring; Coxswain: Audrey Gulig)
4) Georgetown – 8:07.878
5) Penn – 8:15.12
1V4+
1) Tennessee – 7:30.541
2) Penn – 7:41.129
3) Syracuse – 7:44.107
4) Washington State – 7:55.589 (Isabella Jachymeck, Elle Kadir, Eleanor Curtright, Emily Corbett; Coxswain: Vera Lichvarcik)
5) Boston – 7:59.827
6) Georgetown – 8:06.964
2V8+
1) Tennessee – 6:37.341
2) Syracuse – 6:46.198
3) Penn – 6:51.272
4) Boston – 7:04.872
5) Washington State – 7:07.303 (Hana Anderson, Lucy Munro, Hannah Elliott, Jess Horrigan, Izabela Janecek, Tannith Johnson, Makayla Tuley, Saskia Steltman; Coxswain: Ella Greenslade)
6) Georgetown– 7:20.952
1V8+
1) Tennessee – 6:23.438
2) Penn – 6:28.524
3) Syracuse –6:30.235
4) Washington State – 6:41.884 (Amy Patten, Jess Schneider, Siena Snow, Ilaria Macchi, Eliza Dawson, Fiona Elliott, Jaeve Proberts, Sydney Wick; Coxswain: Ainsley Tiernan)
5) Boston – 6:47.821
6) Georgetown– 7:01.278
Friday's Afternoon Results
2V4+
1) Duke – 7:55.302
2) UCF – 8:04.834
3) Georgetown – 8:15.648
4) Navy – 8:22.022
5) Washington State – 8:24.774 (Makenna Bylund, Mackenzie Shipley, Abby Cady, Natalie Spring; Coxswain: Audrey Gulig)
1V4+
1) Duke – 7:38.665
2) UCF – 7:45.965
3) Washington State – 7:54.915 (Isabella Jachymeck, Elle Kadir, Eleanor Curtright, Emily Corbett; Coxswain: Vera Lichvarcik)
4) Navy – 7:58.177
5) Georgetown – 8:10.637
6) Louisville – 8:24.223
2V8+
1) Duke – 7:05.350
2) UCF – 7:10.918
3) Washington State – 7:17.866 (Hana Anderson, Lucy Munro, Hannah Elliott, Jess Horrigan, Izabela Janecek, Tannith Johnson, Makayla Tuley, Saskia Steltman; Coxswain: Ella Greenslade)
3) Louisville – 7:23.554
5) Navy – 7:29.802
6) Georgetown– 7:32.512
1V8+
1) Washington State – 6:53.353 (Amy Patten, Jess Schneider, Siena Snow, Ilaria Macchi, Eliza Dawson, Fiona Elliott, Jaeve Proberts, Sydney Wick; Coxswain: Ainsley Tiernan)
2) Duke – 6:56.271
3) UCF – 7:03.441
4) Louisville –7:10.393
5) Navy – 7:10.867
6) Georgetown– 7:20.377