BOSTON — The No. 14 Wisconsin men's rowing completed the first of a two-day racing stint by sweeping Holy Cross Saturday on the Charles River.

Racing in fair weather and flat water conditions, the varsity eight edged Holy Cross' top boat by two and a half seconds, finishing with a time of 5:53.78.

Despite struggling early on, the second varsity eight battled back to take a slight lead in its race, winning the event by under two seconds with a time of 6:02.71. 

The third varsity eight exploded out of the gate, leading the race the entire 2000 meters to seal a victory over Holy Cross' third boat. The third eight won by the largest margin of the day, clocking in 37 seconds ahead of the Crusaders with a time of 6:02.29.

Up Next: The No. 14 Badgers take on No. 6 Northeastern Sunday on the Charles River.

Straight from the Lake
Head Coach Chris Clark
On the varsity eight:
"The varsity eight really came out to race. We were really getting after it. We expected a bigger margin, but a win's a win. They felt they were going to win and they haven't really felt exactly where they want to be the last couple of weeks. We have a long way to go."

On the second varsity eight:
"The 2V started down, took the lead, and it was a battle the whole way. They ended up winning by a second. It was very discombobulated. We had three weeks in between races, and you could really see it."

On the third varsity eight:
"The 3V really did their best. They were explosive, popped out at the block, rowed pretty low in stroke rate, and were in control the whole way. That was the best race of the day."

On Sunday's racing:
"Tomorrow against Northeastern will be a very different operation. We have to up our game dramatically. It's helpful to have this race against Holy Cross to be more prepared."

Wisconsin vs. Holy Cross
May 4, 2019
Boston
Charles River
2,000 meters

Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 5:53.78; 2. Holy Cross, 5:56.20
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain Kaz Kishiue-Koval, Dylan Adams, Tyler Stevens, Adam Wehking, Kurt Mueller, Kyle McCarthy, Jacob Wenner, Philipp Bogdanov, Evan Miller

Second Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:02.71; 2. Holy Cross,  6:04.10
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain Cameron Pak, Samuel Wheeler, William Alt, Nathan Petersen, Benjamin Waller, Breck Duncan, Will Klauke, Alex Marett, Jacob Buboltz

Third Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:02.29; 2. Holy Cross, 6:39.08
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain James Catalano, Tim Zogleman, Chase Covey, James Sullivan, Luke VandenHeuvel, Matthew Palmer, Henry Roberts, Tyler Bernstein, John Young