Wisconsin Badgers
IRA National Championships
Lightweight varsity double capture silver at 2026 IRA National Championships
May 31, 2026 | Lightweight Rowing
Wisconsin finishes sixth in team standings
GOLD RIVER, Calif. — The Wisconsin lightweight rowing team closed out its 2025-26 season with a silver finish in the double sculls at the IRA National Championships on Lake Natoma on Sunday morning. Wisconsin's 47 points helped them to a sixth-place overall team finish.
How it happened:
Liliana Elliott and Becca Rasmussen highlighted the day for Wisconsin with a silver-medal finish, marking the second year in a row that the Badgers have taken second in the event. The duo covered the 2000-meter distance in 7:43.838 to edge out Radcliffe by five seconds as Boston University came away with the event win in 7:36.678.
The Badgers posted a strong showing in the varsity four event. The crew, coxed by Charlotte Wise, notched a quick, 1:51.290 split to open the first 500 meters of the race to help them to a fourth-place finish. The crew checked in at 7:34.621, holding off Radcliffe and Stanford behind them.
Wisconsin closed out the day with the varsity eight petite final, capturing a win in the race. The 7:00.769 finish in the event held off Sacred Heart by over 22 seconds for a seventh-place overall finish.
From the shore:
Lightweight coach Hadzo "Hodge" Habibovic
"I'm proud of the team for how we performed this weekend. We definitely had some highs and lows throughout the year, and even the weekend, but we gave it our all today. It was awesome for the double to get on the podium again this year and to repeat our silver medal performance from last year. The four climbed one spot from last year and we learned some valuable lessons in the eight. We will continue to use these experiences to keep building our program and keep producing results trending in the right direction. We are excited for the years to come. I'm so proud of this team. Go Badgers."
2026 IRA National Championships
May 31 (Day 2)
Gold River, California
Lake Natoma
2000 Meters
Team Points
1. Princeton, 67 points; 2. Boston University, 61; 3. Radcliffe, 59; 4. Stanford, 52; 5. MIT, 50; 6. Wisconsin, 47; 7. Georgetown, 40; 8 Sacred Heart, 27; 9. Gordon, 5
Women's Lightweight Varsity Doubles Grand Final
1. Boston University, 7:36.678; 2. Wisconsin, 7:43.838; 3. Radcliffe, 7:49.867; 4. MIT, 7:50.662; 5. Stanford, 7:50.805; 6. Princeton, 7:51.107
UW Lineup: Liliana Elliott, Becca Rasmussen
Women's Lightweight Varsity Four Grand Final
1. Princeton, 7:20.118; 2. Boston University, 7:25.473; 3. MIT, 7:31.483; 4. Wisconsin, 7:34.621; 5. Radcliffe, 7:37.186; 6. Stanford, 7:45.046
UW Lineup: Coxswain Charlotte Wise, Rylie Cordella, Charlotte Mirzaian, Adeline Hinkie, Libby Walker
Women's Lightweight Varsity Eight Petite Final (Places 7-8)
1. Wisconsin, 7:00.769; 2. Sacred Heart, 7:22.499
UW Lineup: Coxswain Emilie Rochon, Georgia Harlow, Alexandra Palmberg, Anika Hanson, Claire Rulyak, Romy McCarthy, Audra Chesny, Olivia Palmberg, Payton Bradford
