CLEMSON, S.C.-- Despite racing a day earlier than scheduled due to impending weather, the No. 12 Wisconsin women's rowing team performed according to plan on the first day of the Clemson Invitational, securing a pair of flight wins on Friday evening on Lake Hartwell.

The Badger eights led the way, both placing at the top of their seven-boat flights. The varsity eight finished in a time of six minutes and 23.87 seconds to beat second-place Duke and third-place No. 17 Indiana. Fourth- and fifth-place went to Louisville (6:29.88) and Oregon State (6:32.44), respectively, while Northeastern (6:34.41) and Boston University (6:44.39) rounded out the field.

The second varsity eight clocked a winning time of 6:27.00, besting second-place Indiana by more than six seconds.

Wisconsin's novice eight, led by coxswain Georgia Norton, competed in the second flight of the third varsity eight. Despite an early equipment issue, the boat placed fifth with a time of 6:50.96.

UW's varsity four battled some chop on the course but placed second with a time of 7:09.73. Indiana won the third flight with a 7:06.45 time while Duke finished third, crossing the line at 7:16.32.

Up Next
Wisconsin will race again tomorrow morning, starting at 7:46 a.m. CT against crews from Tennessee, Louisville, USC, Minnesota, Cornell and Clemson. The evening session will begin at 5 p.m. CT with tiered finals based on results from Friday evening and Saturday morning. 

Straight From the Lake
Head coach Bebe Bryans
"Thanks to the Clemson organization for pulling this off. It's just such a big deal to have everyone come early and get everything done the way that they did. Hats off to them. We really appreciate that work. 

"It was a beautiful evening here, but the wind was blowing pretty strong for the freshmen. They had some equipment issues early on in the race that certainly didn't help them out and so they're looking forward to getting a chance to go out tomorrow and have everything work the way it should, including them.

"The four had a great first thousand and then they got a little excited and got moved on a little bit, and that pulled them off their race plan. I think they learned their lesson. They're looking forward to having a 2k piece tomorrow instead of one thousand-meter piece that was really good and one that wasn't as good. 

"In both eights, they executed really well. I think they looked relaxed, they looked strong, they looked like a well-seasoned crew which we really appreciate at this point. There's definitely things we can do to get better, but the things that we've been focusing on, they executed really well. We're psyched and really appreciative of the opportunity to race here."


Clemson Invitational
Saturday, April 13, 2018
Clemson, South Carolina
Lake Hartwell
2000 meters

Varsity Eight - Flight 3
1. Wisconsin, 6:23.87; 2. Duke, 6:27.23; 3. Indiana, 6:27.70; 4. Louisville, 6:29.88; 5.Oregon State, 6:32.44; 6. Northeastern, 6:34.41; 7. Boston University, 6:44.39
UW lineup - Coxswain Saylor Martin, Elisabet Pietz, Lexi Siverling, Megan Whitehouse, Niamh Martin, Alexandra Lohrenz, Molly Jennerman, Alicia Evans, Renee Olley

Second Varsity Eight - Flight 3
1. Wisconsin, 6:27.00; 2. Indiana, 6:33.35; 3. Oregon State, 6:37.92; 4. Duke, 6:40.07; 5. Northeastern, 6:40.39; 6. Louisville, 6:40.83; 7. Cornell, 7:17.25
UW Lineup - Coxswain Lily Hansen, Maren Schultz, Morganne Freeman, Callie Hebert, Sarah Gibbons, Cheyenne Brandt, Eliza Clifford, Gabby Simons, Marissa Gibson

Third Varsity Eight - Flight 2
1. Virginia, 6:34.75; 2. Washington State, 6:37.14; 3. Duke, 6:44.16; 4. Oklahoma, 6:49.84; 5. Wisconsin Novice, 6:50.96; 6. UCF, 7:02.15; 7. Clemson, 7:03.76
UW Lineup - Coxswain Georgia Norton, Sophia Marshall, Charlotte Melcher, Alyson Nerenhausen, Alyssa Marks, Allison Winter-Reed, Isa Darvin, Kaylee Steeno, Carissa Witthuhn

Varsity Four - Flight 3
1. Indiana, 7:06.45; 2. Wisconsin, 7:09.73; 3. Duke, 7:16.32; 4. Louisville, 7:19.79; 5. Oregon State, 7:21.14; 6. Northeastern, 7:37.73; 7. Boston University, 8:12.86
UW Lineup - Coxswain Emma Smith, Taylor Caudle, Jessie Bowden, Elizabeth Clarke, Katherine Grose