Spartans Wrap Racing at Big Ten Invitational

East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan state wrapped up competition at the Big Ten Invitational on Saturday in Sarasota, Florida.

The eight Big Ten teams and their eight invited guests had three sessions of racing on the course at Nathan Benderson Park, which is the host course for the NCAA Championship regatta over Memorial Day weekend (May 27-29).
Fourteen of the 16 crews were either ranked in this week's Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) national poll, or receiving votes: No. 2 Stanford, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Brown, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 10 Duke, No. 12 Virginia, No. 17 Rutgers, No. 18 Tennessee, and No. 20 Indiana as well as crews receiving votes in the CRCA poll: Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin.

"This was a weekend that is very much like the NCAA Championships, in terms of the quantity and quality of crews that were on the course," said head coach Kim Chavers. "Our best races came in the morning sessions on both Friday and Saturday, and we will take some positives as we move forward into the rest of our schedule.

"We are closing margins with the Big Ten crews that we have already faced this season," continued Chavers. "We will row at Iowa and Indiana before the Big Ten Championships, and it is good to have a measuring stick that we can compare a week from now after we race them again. We had some good racing and results this morning from our second novice eight, second varsity four, and varsity eight. It's a good starting point for us to begin our week of practice next week before we head to Iowa City."

The Spartans lined up with Notre Dame, Dartmouth, and league foe Iowa in the NCAA boats for the final racing session on Saturday morning, and faced Big Ten crews in the novice eights and smaller fours. MSU earned a win over three Big Ten crews in the second novice eight, capturing the win with a margin of about a second and a half over Minnesota and open water over Indiana and Iowa. MSU also earned a second-place finish in the second varsity four, about a half-length behind Notre Dame at the finish .

The Spartans took third place in two of the three NCAA boats, finishing a length behind Notre Dame in the varsity eight and a in a tight varsity four contest, were three seconds behind winner Iowa and about a seat and a half behind second-place Dartmouth. MSU was also third in the novice eight behind Indiana and Iowa.

MSU heads to Iowa next weekend where it will race the host Hawkeyes in addition to Tulsa, Drake, and Old Dominion on Saturday.

Varsity Eight: Iowa 6:29.588, Notre Dame 6:34.072, Michigan State 6:38.308, Dartmouth 6:43.348
Second Varsity Eight: Dartmouth 6:43.421, Iowa 6:44.287, Notre Dame 6:47.234, Michigan State 6:48.771
Varsity Four: Iowa 7:29.402, Dartmouth 7:30.859, Michigan State 7:32.412, Notre Dame 7:36.935
Second Varsity Four: Notre Dame 7:26.636, Michigan State 7:29.949, Dartmouth 7:33.649
Third Varsity Four: Iowa 7:32.006; Minnesota 7:36.508, Notre Dame 7:37.313, Michigan State 7:38.346
Novice Eight: Indiana 6:47.840, Iowa 6:49.010, Michigan State 6:57.683, Minnesota 7:05.170
Second Novice Eight: Michigan State 7:01.219, Minnesota 7:02.932, Indiana 7:13.719; Iowa 7:25.099

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