BOSTON -- The Wisconsin women's rowing team raced into the top 15 of the women's championship eights competition at the 55th Head of the Charles on Sunday. 

Despite some race difficulties, it was a good day for the Badgers as their boat coxed by Emma Smith finished 12th out of the 32 entries and ninth amongst American colleges and universities with a time of 15:53.240. 

UW had the misfortune of starting the race with the 23rd slot having not participated in the regatta since 2016 and was therefore stuck behind slower traffic having to pause a few times. The Badgers rowed strong nonetheless in some of the best water conditions the Charles River has seen. 

Entries from the United States Training Center-Princeton took first and second place in the women's championship eights winning with a time of 15:05.84, followed by Stanford who took third with a time of 15:24.784.
 

See the #Badgers in action during the women's championship eights today at the Head of the Charles! pic.twitter.com/f1vVvWW9eh

— Wisconsin Rowing (@BadgerRowing) October 21, 2019

Straight from the River
Head Coach Bebe Bryans
On the day:
"It was a good day for us. Beautiful day in Boston and just some of the best conditions I've ever seen on the Charles, so that was a pretty great experience for everybody.

On the race:
"We started pretty far back in the pack. We started 23rd in our race because we haven't been there in the last couple of years. They raced really well. They were super aggressive and went after the course right from the beginning. 

"Unfortunately, we had some slower traffic up in front of us that didn't get out of our way and so, we had to stop a few times, throw in some pauses to make sure we didn't crash into them, because a crash is always worse than a pause. Our coxswain, Emma Smith, drove the boat really well and we were able to still throw down a pretty fast time and come up with a good finish. 

On the rest of fall season:
"Everybody's thrilled, and we're excited to come back and put our heads down for the last little bit of time we've got left and get after it again. Very successful having for the Badgers."

Head of the Charles
Oct. 20, 2019
Boston, Mass.
Charles River
3 miles
 
Championships Eights (32 entries)
1. USTC - Princeton, 15:05.842; 2. USTC - Princeton, 15:06.833; 3. Stanford, 15:24.784; 12. Wisconsin, 15:53.240; 13. Washington, 15:56.343
UW Lineup – Coxswain Emma Smith, Elisabet Pietz, Hannah Cooper, Isabela Darvin, Katherine Grose, Lauren O'Connor, Brandi Gueths, Grace Joyce, Taylor Caudle

Up Next: The Badgers host a border-battle on Saturday, Nov. 2 on Lake Mendota in a scrimmage with rival Minnesota.