Badger Rowers 11th at NCAA Championships
May 30, 2004 | Women's Rowing
The University of Wisconsin finished strong on the final day to place 11th at the 2004 NCAA Rowing Championships. Wisconsin earned 19 points overall, while Brown won the NCAA title with 70 points to go along with varsity eight and second varsity eight titles. Virginia took the varsity four crown.
The Badgers ended their first NCAA tournament in five years on Sunday with solid results in the varsity four and second varsity eight petite finals. In the prior two days, Wisconsin got off the line slowly in nearly every race, but today, quick starts led to strong finishes for the UW.
In the varsity four, Wisconsin grabbed the lead by 500 meters and never looked back, claiming first in the petite final and seventh, overall. The Badgers posted a 7:32.50 to take the 2000-meter race. Michigan State was second in 7:34.20. Michigan, Princeton, Washington State and Harvard finished in that order to round out the petite final. The Badgers earned six points with the result.
The UW came close to repeating the performance in the second varsity eight, grabbing a 2.5 second lead by 500 meters and a three-second lead by the midway point. Virginia successfully closed the gap over the second half of the race and claimed the petite final in 6:48.80. Wisconsin still finished second, clocking 6:51.00 for eighth overall. Harvard was third, with Princeton in fourth, Michigan State in fifth and Ohio State taking sixth in the final and 12th overall. Wisconsin added 10 points to its team total with eighth-place in the race.
Saturday, Wisconsin placed 16th in the varsity eight to account for the remaining three points in the Badgers' team score.
