Wisconsin Badgers
IRA National Championships
Lightweights advance two boats at IRA National Championships
May 30, 2026 | Lightweight Rowing
Wisconsin's double sculls and varsity four advance to Sunday's grand finals
Live Results || Watch
GOLD RIVER, Calif. — The Wisconsin lightweight rowing team opened the first day of competition at the 2026 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships on Lake Natoma on Saturday morning. Two of Wisconsin's three boats clocked runner-up finishes in their heats to advance to Sunday grand finals, while the lightweight eight will race in the petite final.Â
How it happened:
The Badgers opened the morning with a runner-up finish in heat two of the lightweight varsity doubles event, finishing just under a quarter of a second behind Radcliffe. The duo of Liliana Elliott and Becca Rasmussen clocked the fastest split in the last 500 meters of the course in their heat in 1:56.290, helping them to a 7:49.040 finish.Â
The lightweight varsity four crew, led by coxswain Charlotte Wise, followed suit with the fastest split in the last 500 meters in their heat in 1:54.140. The team earned a second-place, 7:40.040 finish, after trailing Princeton's 7:34.01 mark to advance to tomorrow's final session.
Wisconsin closed out the day's competition in the lightweight varsity eight event. The crew notched a 6:58.480 mark for a fourth-place finish in their heat, just over 13 seconds off of Radcliffe's leading time, to advance to tomorrow's petite final.Â
From the Shore
Lightweight coach Hadzo "Hodge" Habibovic
""We had some highs and lows today. We were proud with how our double and four performed and secured spots in the grand finals tomorrow with the chance of earning medals. The eight had a tough race and will be racing the petite final tomorrow where we will try to throw down the fastest time possible. We have some good focuses for all of our crews heading into tomorrow and we hope to earn some hardware."
Up Next: Wisconsin hit the water at 10:08 a.m. (CT) Sunday morning for the second day of competition at the IRA National Championships. Â
SUNDAY SCHEDULE (Times are PT)
Women's Lightweight Varsity 2x Final
8:08 a.m. - FinalÂ
8:16 a.m. - Award CeremonyÂ
Women's Lightweight Varsity 4+ Final
8:32 a.m. - FinalÂ
8:40 a.m. - Award CeremonyÂ
Women's Lightweight Varsity 8+ Final
10:30 a.m. - Final 2
10:46 a.m. - Award Ceremony
10:56 a.m. - Team Awards Ceremony
2026 IRA National Championships
May 30
Gold River, California
Lake Natoma
2000 Meters
1. Radcliffe, 7:48.800; 2. Wisconsin, 7:49.040; 3. Stanford, 7:59.37; 4. Georgetown, 8:03.97
UW Lineup: Liliana Elliott, Becca Rasmussen
Women's Lightweight Varsity Four Heat 1 (Top three to Sunday Grand Final, rest to Petite Final)
1. Princeton, 7:34.010; 2. Wisconsin, 7:40.210; 3. MIT, 7:45.300; 4. Sacred Heart, 8:01.690
UW Lineup: Coxswain Charlotte Wise, Rylie Cordella, Charlotte Mirzaian, Adeline Hinkie, Libby WalkerÂ
Women's Lightweight Varsity Eight Heat 2 (Top three to Sunday Grand Final, rest to Petite Final)
1. Radcliffe, 6:45.310; 2. Stanford, 6:50.830; 3. Georgetown, 6:53.420; 4. Wisconsin, 6:58.480
UW Lineup: Coxswain Emilie Rochon, Georgia Harlow, Alexandra Palmberg, Anika Hanson, Claire Rulyak, Romy McCarthy, Audra Chesny, Olivia Palmberg, Payton Bradford
