BY LUKE REYNOLDS
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No one is counting.
…but there are 25 days until the 2022 American Collegiate Rowing Championships, 32 days until the 2022 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, and 39 days until the 2022 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships.
Tick. Tock.
Before we get there, though, a look at what happened last weekend.
Lake Wheeler Invitational—
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Duke co-hosted the annual Lake Wheeler Invitational April 21 through April 24. Teams competing included Boston College, Boston University, Bucknell University, Clemson University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Syracuse University, University of Central Florida, University of Kansas, University of Louisville, University of Miami, University of Oklahoma, University of North Carolina, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and the US Naval Academy.
It was 15th-ranked Syracuse who came away with the team points trophy known as the Pocock Cup.
“We had a great team performance,” said Syracuse women’s rowing head coach Luke McGee. “One philosophy we are trying to drive home is that every person, every seat, and every boat matters because it is all about the team. This was a challenging regatta to race back-to-back-to-back against strong competition. What stands out is the consistency of performances across the board. That was really key. As each boat came down the course you could feel the energy and it fueled the entire team.”
11th-ranked Duke wasn’t too far behind the Orange finishing the regatta with 82 points to Syracuse’s 83 points.
“This was another good racing weekend for Duke,” Duke’s women’s rowing head coach Megan Cooke Carcagno said. “There were lots of great competitors and exciting races in what could be one of the best venues in the country. Syracuse and Penn showed tremendous speed, and our crews learned a lot racing next to their boats. We have some work to do to hit our goals, but the team is excited to keep pushing.”
Also putting up a strong performance at the regatta was the University of Pennsylvania that won nine races on the weekend, with their ninth-ranked varsity eight and their varsity four both having a perfect record for the event.
“We had a fantastic weekend of hard racing, and I was really proud of the full team effort,” said Penn women’s rowing head coach Wesley Ng. “The competitive level of the teams at this event was awesome and another big learning experience for us.”
Texas Rowing Championships—
Saturday was Texas State Rowing Championships Day in Dallas, Texas (in case you missed Before the Line) as declared by the good Mayor of Dallas, Eric Johnson, himself. The proclamation was made on account of White Rock Rowing hosting the championships for the first time ever in Dallas on White Rock Lake.
It was Texas Rowing Club that dominated the event, however, picking up first-place finishes in the women’s eight, women’s and men’s novice quad, men’s U17 single, men’s and women’s U17 double, men’s four, men’s and women’s U17 four, and the men’s and women’s U17 quad.
The home squad, White Rock, had several impressive finishes on the first day of the regatta picking up wins in the men’s pair, men’s and women’s straight fours, and the women’s second-varsity four. The host crew also won the women’s U17 eight and men’s novice eight.
Dallas United also had a strong showing at the event winning the men’s eight, women’s four, men’s second-varsity eight, men’s U17 eight, men’s U15 quad, and placing second in the women’s eight.
Lake Stevens Spring Sprints—
In the Pacific Northwest, Lake Stevens Rowing Club hosted its annual spring sprints over the weekend providing some stellar racing opportunities for junior and master’s rowers alike.
Lake Oswego Community Rowing had the most entries (62) in the regatta and picked up several wins including the men’s youth lightweight single, women’s youth four, mixed masters novice double, men’s masters lightweight single, and novice mixed youth octuple (!) / eight. In the mixed master’s eight, Lake Union took the top spot followed by Mount Baker and Pocock.
Florida Scholastic Rowing Association Sweep States—
Sarasota Crew took home the overall points team trophy with 568 points at the FSRA Sweep States this past weekend but fell short of a complete sweep. The women of Crew Boosters of Winter Park crew won the girl’s points trophy preventing the sweep. The men of Sarasota Crew won the boy’s points trophy while Winter Park’s men’s crew took second.
The final moments of the 2022 regular season are quickly approaching with Youth Regional Championships just a few weekends away for most crews and conference champs starting even sooner. Buckle up!
