REDWOOD CITY, Calif – The No. 17 University of Iowa women’s rowing team swept No. 12 USC in all three races at Redwood Shores on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first race of the day, the I Varsity Eight set the tone for the team by getting their bow in front of USC early and building their lead gradually over the 2000-meter course. Entering the final 300 meters, USC was still maintaining contact but the Hawkeyes’ sprint stretched the margin to open water and sealed the win by 3.5 seconds.
The II Varsity Eight also got off to a great start against the Trojans and maintained that momentum over the course. As the crews entered the final 500 meters, The Hawkeyes had already established an open water lead and stretched that even further in the final sprint to cross the line 5.4 seconds ahead of USC.
The I Varsity Four followed their teammates lead with an aggressive plan that allowed them to enter the final quarter of the race with just under a boat-length lead. The lineup, which was just created for the first time against Stanford the day before, managed to break contact with USC in the sprint to cross 3.2 seconds ahead of the Trojans.
HEAR FROM COACH CARTER
“This morning’s racing went pretty well. Winning all three boat classes against a team of USC’s quality is always something we’ll walk away pretty happy about. USC had a really good opener at the San Diego Crew Classic against highly regarding competition so to get in front of them was a good sign that we’re on the right track.
It’s still very early in the process for us, though, so we’re definitely learning a lot each time we run over 2000 meters. This opening weekend has taught us some good lessons and we’ll be working on those as we prepare for Michigan State and Michigan next week.”
LINEUPS
1V8+: Ashley Duda, Izzy Dolba, Kaelynn Heiberg, Hannah Greenlee, Hunter Koenigsfeld, Tessa Harold, Katie Pearson, Eve Stewart, Logan Jones (coxswain)
2V8+: Claire Rutherford, Kasia Gniatczyk, Ashlynn Bauer, Megan Sprengeler, Baillie McCunn, Paige Schlapkohl, Zora Marinkovich, Rachel Canon, Faith Wieland (coxswain)
1V4+: Dani Bender, Amelia Koehn, Amalie Millerd, Gemma Kerr, Laura Justis (coxswain)
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to face off against Big Ten opponents Michigan and Michigan State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. (CT).