After a three-day competition, IU rowing placed 12th overall in its sixth straight appearance at the NCAA Championships.
Coach Steve Peterson said he was pleased with his team's performance throughout the weekend.
“The team did well," Peterson said. "I think the biggest thing we’re trying to do when we come to a race is to perform as well as we can."
All three of IU's boats placed higher than they were ranked coming into the championships. They all also recorded their fastest times in their respective finals.
The First Varsity Four improved three spots, First Varsity Eight three spots and Second Varsity Eight one spot.
1V8
The 1V8 team was ranked 17th and came in fifth place in its heat on Friday, finishing with a time of 6:23.849.
The team had to battle off Duke University the entire race but finished behind the opposing boat by less than a second.
Placing fifth put IU’s 1V8 into the C/D Semi-Finals on Saturday. The C/D Semi-Finals dictate where teams will be placed into the C or D bracket for the finals.
IU fought hard in the C/D Semi-Finals and placed third, qualifying for the C Finals with a time of 6:51.421.
In the C Finals, IU finished second with a time of 6:16.928. It placed 14th overall but recorded its best time on the weekend in the C Finals.
2V8
IU’s 2V8 was ranked 12th overall and started out in fourth place during its heat. However, it quickly gained ground and passed Harvard University for third place.
Senior Elizabeth Meinzer said she was ecstatic to pass Harvard and slide into a qualifying position for the A/B Semi-Finals.
“That was very exciting," Meinzer said. "You know obviously we were ranked third coming into that race, so our goal is to be at our seed or better. We were getting a little nervous, but we stayed internal, rode our race, and we are really proud of the outcome.”
IU held onto its lead, finishing third in the heat with a time of 6:32.115. It advanced to the A/B Semi-Finals with a chance to battle for a place in the A bracket.
On Saturday, the 2V8 placed sixth in its A/B Semi-Finals, placing them into the Petite Finals bracket for Sunday. It finished with a time of 7:11.462.
In the Petite Finals, IU’s 2V8 placed fifth, so the team slotted into eleventh place overall. The boat finished with a time of 6:27.258, clocking in as its fastest race in the NCAA Championships.
1V4
The 1V4 team, also ranked 12th, finished in third place in its heat to advance to the A/B Semi-Finals with a time of 7:09.447.
Three Big Ten teams — Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan — were in the heat with IU, and all but Wisconsin made it to the A/B Semi-Finals.
1V4 placed over University of Virginia to get sixth place and advance to the Petite Finals for Sunday. Its time in the A/B Semi-Finals was 7:51.065.
IU’s 1V4 had a nail-biting race in the Petite Finals. Throughout the race, IU was neck-and-neck with Rutgers and Yale University, battling for third, fourth and fifth
IU was in fifth place during the middle of the race, but pushed ahead in the last 500 meters to place third in the Petite Finals and ninth overall. The boat broke the top 10 and beat out Rutgers by 0.48 seconds.
1V4’s time of 7:08.084 in the Petite Finals was a best for its NCAA Championships races.
“It was insane," sophomore Rosemary Munro said. "We didn’t even know what place we were in when we crossed the line. We were just gunning it in the last 500. When we heard over the loudspeaker we got third place, we were so, so happy.”
Peterson said he was happy with all his boats, specifically the 1V4.
“The boat that really, really performed well — I mean all three did — but I think the 1V4 really stepped up," Peterson said. "It’s a young group. For them to just come together in the past couple weeks from Big Tens to here. It’s just amazing.”
