Iowa Wraps Up Day 1 at Sarasota 2K

SARASOTA, FLA.- The University of Iowa rowing team battled strong winds on their first day of racing at Nathan Benderson Park this afternoon.

The Hawkeyes completed in the 1V8, 2V8, 1V4, and 2V4 in heats of 2000-meter sprints. The field consisted of No. 18 Alabama, Boston College, Dartmouth, High Point, Iowa, Jacksonville, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Old Dominion, Tulsa, No. 25 UCF, UMass, No. 21 UNC, and West Virginia.

Iowa’s top placements of the day come from the second place finishes of the 1V8 and 1V4 boats, finishing four seconds and 13 seconds behind the heat winners, respectively. They advance to race in their corresponding A finals Saturday. The 2V8 will be competing in the B final and the 2V4 competing in the C final on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes will return to action tomorrow morning at 6:50 a.m. (CT) to compete in the finals. Fans can watch live at https://rhstv.com/ or follow along live at https://crewtimer.com/regatta/r14351.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JEFF GARBUTT
“The whole team did a great job battling not only the heat and high winds but staying with a strong field of competition. We are looking for all our boats to improve during day 2 as our women are more comfortable with the course. We want our boats to build off their successes from today and continue to trust their training. We are proud of the way our boats are competing and continuing to positively progress. Go Hawks!”

FINISHES
The Hawkeyes started strong with 15-20 powerful strokes from the launch. UCF pulled out to an early lead, up four seats on Iowa’s boat. At the 1500-meter mark, UCF found a small open water lead over the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes pushed at the end to finish bow to stern with the UCF crew.

Varsity Eight
1 UCF (6:37.31)
2 Iowa (6:41.38)
3 Tulsa (6:48.13)
4 UMass (6:59.29)
5 High Point (7:01.58)
Iowa: Natalie Maher (cox), Orla Cuffe, Molly Shannon, Scarlett Maleham, Mia Lawrence, Poppy Brook-Turner, Lily Beardsley, Sophia Foreman, Emma Rayner

Iowa did not find much separation with the field in the opening 500 meters. In the middle meters of the race, Iowa fell back a couple seats from the leaders, continuing to fight to keep connection. In the final closing meters of the race, Iowa fought to catch the leaders but was unable to close the gap between Michigan State.

II Varsity Eight
1 UNC (7:00.04)
2 Michigan State (7:02.44)
3 Iowa (7:05.56)
4 UMass (7:26.28)
5 Jacksonville (7:33.50)
Iowa: Care Burns (cox), Annabel Rayner, Soph Pepper, Karire Evans, Haley Reeves, Olivia Smothers, Meghan Harris, Maggie Toennis, Alli Merritt

Iowa pulled out strong in the first 500 meters of the race, staying connected to UNC who took an early lead. At the 750 meter mark, UNC had gained an open water advantage over Iowa and Iowa had an open water advantage over Jacksonville. Jacksonville tried to make a final push in the last 500 meters but Iowa was able to fend them off and finish with open water.

Varsity Four
1 UNC (7:27.49)
2 Iowa (7:40.61)
3 Jacksonville (7:48.09)
4 UMass (7:52.86)
5 Tulsa (7:53.86)
6 High Point (8:18.87)
Iowa: Carissa Cochico (cox), Ava Satterfield, Haley Hayes, Evan Schwickerath, Laura Murphy

II Varsity Four
1 UCF (6:41.73)*
2 Dartmouth (6:49.80)*
3 Alabama A (6:57.55)*
4 Boston College (7:09.09)*
5 Iowa (7:23.13)*
6 West Virginia (7:55.24)*
Iowa: Kimberly Marquez (cox), Issy Allen, Isabelle DeLong, Ella Grove, Emma Tate
*Time results to be corrected.