Michigan State University
at Clemson Invitational
MSU Varsity Eight, Novice Eights Finish Strong in South Carolina
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State raced its final session at the Clemson Invitational on Sunday on Lake Hartwell.
MSU's varsity eight finished in third behind No. 8 Texas and No. 13 Indiana, finishing just five seconds behind the Hoosiers in a time of 6:50.7; IU (6:45.5) was about six seats back on the Longhorns. The Spartans were a half-length ahead of host Clemson (6:52.5), about seven seats on Oregon State (6:53.9), and open water over columbia and Tennessee.
MSU's novice eight was again paired with several third novice boats for racing, and rose to the occasion with a third-place finish in a fast heat. Virginia won the race in a time of 6:43.6, faster than all but Texas in MSU's varsity eight race. Syracuse was eight seconds back of the Cavaliers, and the Spartans posted a 6:55.6, ahead of the third varsity boats from Ohio State (7:00.8) and Oklahoma (7:06.1).
The Spartan varsity eight was fifth behind Texas, Clemson, Tennessee, Indiana, and Oregon, falling just short at the line behind the Ducks; MSU finished in 7:08.2, and five-tenths of a second behind Oregon, which took fourth in 7:07.7. The varsity four, which has seen several personnel changes over the last two weeks. was seventh in its heat (8:21.2).
"All the crews made progressions, and being in six-lane races was a good change of pace for us," admitted head coach Matt Weise. "Our varsity eight had a rough evening session last night, but I thought that we really finished on a pretty good note this morning. Our novice eight also was able to cap the weekend with a strong performance this morning. We're seeing some improvement in our second varsity eight as well, even . We were head-to-head with quality crews all weekend, and seeing that level of competition and knowing that we aren't that far back is a good spot for us to be. We're a month away from Big Ten Championships, so each race becomes more and more important in terms of our preparation."
Sunday Morning Session
- Varsity Eight Texas 6:42.4; Indiana 6:45.5; Michian State 6:50.7; Clemson 6:52.5; Oregon State 6:53.9; Columbia 7:01.8; Tennessee 7:02.7
- Second Varsity Eight Texas 6:48.8; Indiana 6:519; Clemson 7:01.0; Tennessee 7:04.2; Oregon 7:07.7; Michigan State 7:08.2; Columbia 7:15.9
- First Varsity Four Texas 7:33.1; Clemson 7:42.3; Tennessee 7:45.2; Oregon State 7:50.5; Indiana 7:51.6; Columbia 7:56.9; Michigan State 8:21.2
- Third Varsity Eight/Novice Eight Virginia 6:43.6; Syracuse 6:51.0; Michigan State N8 6:55.6; Ohio State 7:00.8; Oklahoma 7:06.1; Clemson 4V8 7:11.6; Cental Florida 7:14.0
