No. 8 Rowing sweeps championship finals at Longhorn Invite

Saturday, March 25

Austin, Texas (Decker Lake, Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park)

All Day

University of Texas

Longhorn Invite

No. 8 Rowing sweeps championship finals at Longhorn Invite

03.25.2017 | Rowing

Longhorns sweep their three finals races in the events traditionally contested at the NCAA Championships.

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 8 Texas won four of five "A" finals races, including all three NCAA Championship-level races, as it kicked off the 2017 season at the Longhorn Invite Saturday on Walter E. Long Lake.

The Longhorns won each of their morning heats and earned their respective places in the afternoon finals races against Iowa, UCF and No. 14 Duke. Texas went three-for-three and was victorious in the varsity eight (I Eight), second varsity eight (II Eight) and varsity four, the three races that will decide the national champion later this spring in West Windsor, New Jersey.

The first varsity eight posted a convincing win, as Texas covered the 2,000-meter (2k) course in 6 minutes, 8.555 seconds. Iowa took second at 6:19.863 while UCF placed third at 6:24.144. Duke took fourth at 6:24.204.

Texas' second varsity eight joined the V8+ in taking control early on in its "A" final and was victorious in 6:15.451. Iowa settled for second at 6:24.768 while the 14^th-ranked Blue Devils took third at 6:31.665. UCF rounded out the top-four in 6:44.013.

The four boat set the tone in the NCAA championship-level races prior to the varsity eight and second varsity eight "A" finals. The varsity four won decisively in 7:02.781 while Iowa placed second at 7:13.371. Duke took fourth at 7:23.333 while UCF settled for fourth at 7:28.769.

"For the first eight, second eight and fours, I was glad that we were challenged in the first 500 and 1,000 meters," said third-year Texas head coach Dave O'Neill. "I was glad that they fought through and stayed composed. We look at it as a full 2,000-meter race, and they came through. The four went 7:02 and the second eight went 6:15 in the finals heat and 6:09 in the first heat, and those are real times. And, in these conditions, it's good."

Texas added a second-place finish behind Duke in the second varsity four race, and the Longhorns defeated Iowa in a third varsity eight/novice eight final.

"We had a full 2,000 meters (in each race) and I was happy," O'Neill added. "Things have been coming together. We have a long way to go, but for this first race of the year we are in a decent spot."

Texas resumes spring competition next weekend (April 1-2) when it competes in the annually competitive San Diego Crew Classic at Mission Bay.

Longhorn Invite

Afternoon Session

I Eight – "A" Final

1 Texas, 6:08.555

2 Iowa, 6:19.863

3 UCF, 6:24.144

4 Duke, 6:24.204

Texas Crew: Kay Murphy (coxswain), Fanny Bon, Emily Froehlich, Ljiljana Josic, Mariam Soufi, Gia Doonan, Milica Slijepcevic, Alice Bowyer, Pippa Loveard (bow)