OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- The Wisconsin women's rowing team closed out the Cardinal Invitational with a trio of second-place finishes on Sunday morning, racing against crews from Clemson, Tulsa and Yale, and completed every race of its season-opening weekend in the top three.

The varsity eight, coxed by Saylor Martin, rowed the 2,000-meter course in a time of six minutes, 12.267 seconds, besting third-place Tulsa (6:13.875) by over a second. Yale came in first with a 6:04.603 time, while Clemson rounded out the field in fourth at 6:22.907.

Coxed by Lily Hansen, the second varsity eight clinched second with a 6:13.022 time, while Yale's time of 6:08.158 was good for another first. Tulsa (6:20.298) and Clemson (6:22.178) battled for third and fourth, respectively.

The varsity four, coxed by Maggie Mandarano, raced to a time of 6:58.010 to edge out Clemson and Tulsa for second place. Yale finished with a first-place time of 6:49.586.

Straight From the Lake
Head coach Bebe Bryans
"We had a beautiful morning for racing in Oak Ridge. The current was still running really fast but the wind calmed down a little bit and it was a tail wind for us. A set of different conditions, which is why we came down here, to get as many different opportunities as possible. 

"The racing today was okay. I think we didn't execute today as well as we were hoping to do, which is a good learning experience for us. We did get a chance to see some crews that are really fast and they're going to be crews to be chasing all season, I think. That was good to see that early and watch how really good crews are rowing right now. 

"We're very optimistic going forward. I think the coaching staff was not all that pleased with today, but we're very optimistic about the future. We have a lot of work to do. The team is on board and ready to get that going, and we're excited to get back home, get back together again as a team, get a little bit more work done and get on with this season."

Up Next
The Badgers travel to Sarasota, Florida, site of the 2018 NCAA Championships, to take on crews from UCF and Miami on March 31.

Cardinal Invitational
Saturday, March 18, 2018
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Melton Lake
2000 meters

Varsity Eight
1. Yale, 6:04.603; 2. Wisconsin, 6:12.267; 3. Tulsa, 6:13.875; Clemson, 6:22.907 
UW Lineup - Coxswain Saylor Martin, Maren Schultz, Lexi Siverling, Megan Whitehouse, Morganne Freeman, Callie Hebert, Niamh Martin, Elisabet Pietz, Renee Olley

Second Varsity Eight
1. Yale, 6:08.158; 2. Wisconsin, 6:13.022; 3. Tulsa, 6:20.298; 4. Clemson, 6:22.178
UW Lineup - Coxswain Lily Hansen, Alicia Evans, Katherine Grose, Alexandra Lohrenz, Eliza Clifford, Orennia Goetzinger, Molly Jennerman, Gabby Simons, Hannah Cooper

Varsity Four
1. Yale, 6:49.586; 2. Wisconsin, 6:58.010; 3. Clemson, 7:02.630; 4. Tulsa, 7:03.080 
UW Lineup - Coxswain Maggie Mandarano, Cheyenne Brandt, Rebekah Armstrong, Taylor Caudle, Jessie Bowden