The Iowa rowing team competed in the 2017 NCAA Championship, in which it earned a 15th-place finish after an impressive, record-breaking season.
By Megan Sprengeler
Iowa competed at the Big Ten Championships on May 14, breaking the university’s point record and tying for fourth, missing the podium by under a second.
The squad’s performance earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships on May 16, sending its Varsity 8, II Varsity 8, and Varsity 4 boats to the Championship in New Jersey.
It was the team’s first appearance at the NCAAs since 2001.
May 26
On the first day of racing, all three crews competed in their respective hears in the morning and afternoon. The 15th-seeded I Varsity 8 stayed hot on the trail of second-seeded California and seventh-seeded Michigan. Showing consistent speed throughout, the crew landed in third.
The 13th-seeded II Varsity 8 raced a tough heat with fourth-seeded Michigan and the fifth-seeded Texas.
After staying level across through the first 500 meters, Iowa ended up settling into a conservative fourth.
The 16th-seeded I Varsity 4 was in a battle early on with Texas and Washington. They clinched the top-two spots, with the Hawkeyes following in third.
May 27
The Hawkeyes made a strong showing on the second day.
The I Varsity 8 crew was able to counter surges from Notre Dame and Central Florida and crossed the line for first place. Iowa was 2.6 seconds ahead of the Irish, followed by Central Florida, which was another 2.1 seconds behind.
The II Varsity 8 took an early lead on the course. Washington State countered with a strong move, passing the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes finished third, behind Washington State and Northeastern.
The 1 Varsity 4 landed some grueling competition, including the top-seeded Washington. The crew hung close to Princeton and Yale throughout the race, maintaining a healthy lead on Syracuse.
Iowa crossed the line in fifth, leaving it ready for the May 28 matchups.
May 28
The final heats at the championship proved to be the cherry on top of a ground-breaking season.
The II Varsity 8 came out keeping pace with Indiana through the halfway mark.
The Hawkeyes held off Northeastern and Notre Dame with the fastest sprint of the final 500 meters in their field but were unable to track down the first two finishers.
Crossing the line in third, the II Varsity 8 earned 15th place.
“Our second varsity didn’t get off the line as cleanly as they wanted, to so it put them in a little more of a hot contest early in the race,” head coach Andrew Carter said in a release. “Overall, though, I think it was the best race of the weekend for them.”
The I Varsity 8 was able get off the line cleanly but was challenged by Syracuse early on.
Iowa pulled ahead in the next few hundred and took the lead crossing the halfway mark in a stroke-for-stroke race with Washington State.
In the final push, the Cougars took control of the race, earning a victory over the Hawkeyes by one second, landing the Hawkeyes with a 14th-place finish.
“That was our best race yet,” said junior Kaelynn Heiberg in a release. “We wanted to go out and get an early lead, which is what we did. We put it all out there. It was a great race.”
The I Varsity 4 crew came off the starting line holding nothing back but couldn’t keep pace.
In a close finish with Syracuse, Iowa crossed the line in sixth place, earning a team-high 12th place at the NCAA Championship.
“The 4 did what they’ve done all year,” assistant coach Jeff Garbutt said in a release. “They really went for it. They’ve overcome a lot of different things this year, and they’ve always risen to the occasion. The thing I’m most proud of is they stayed very sound and did what they were taught to do.”
