Coming off a third straight Dale England Cup, No. 16 IU rowing picked up a fourth-place finish in the Longhorn Invite over the weekend.
No. 4 University of Texas at Austin defended its home waters, placing first overall, followed by No. 10 University of Virginia and No. 13 Iowa.
The first varsity eight boats started off the day for IU. But it was Texas running away with the win, followed by Iowa, Virginia and IU, respectively. The Longhorns had a five second advantage over the Hawkeyes, and 15 seconds over the Hoosiers.
In the second varsity eight race, Virginia pulled away to beat Texas by just three seconds. Once again, the Hoosiers trailed by a 15-second margin, this time finishing in third place.
IU suffered its largest margin of defeat in the varsity four race, trailing 13 seconds behind first place Texas. The Longhorns took their second race of the day to secure the first place finish. Virginia placed second, taking second overall in the standings. IU finished last.
Texas finished in first with 40 points overall. Virginia came in second with 35, Iowa in third with 31 and IU in fourth with 26.
Next for the Hoosiers is the Big Ten Championships on May 19 in Wisconsin. IU placed fifth in last year's competition. This will be the Hoosiers' last opportunity to race before the NCAA Championship teams are selected. A good finish in Wisconsin for IU could help it secure a sixth straight championship appearance.
“Make sure you’re focused on giving everything you have going into it,” IU Head Coach Steve Peterson said . “Have no regrets at the end of the day, and if you give everything you have, that’s all you could’ve done and you cant be disappointed.”
