The Notre Dame rowing team competed in the Big Ten Invite this past weekend. They continue to gain valuable racing experience with a young roster, looking to peak as the postseason approaches. At the Big Ten Invite, the Irish improved throughout the weekend, notching a win in the second varsity four on Saturday morning. They also claimed a second-place finish in the first varsity eight.
“We continue to learn to race. I think we need to learn to race consistently,” Irish head coach Martin Stone said. “Throughout the weekend, one race would be good, one would be bad. The 2V4 did a really great job in their final.”
The Irish faced some incredibly stiff competition, with 10 of 16 teams ranked in the top 20. Michigan and Brown headlined the field and showcased well-rounded and dominant teams. Those two programs consistently outclassed the field in each race. However, Notre Dame was able to scratch out a third-place finish in the second varsity four. They improved their morning time by nearly 17 seconds. Stone spoke on the valuable experience the team gained from facing an elite set of opponents.
“Michigan, Brown, Yale are all very fast. They‘re all teams we‘ve seen,” Stone commented. “Now it‘s a matter of us trying to develop our speed.”
Irish junior Victoria Gevaudan also discussed Notre Dame‘s need for better consistency.
“I think we can find more speed in the middle of our race,” Gevaudan said. “We have the power and the fitness, but just need to learn how to apply it consistently throughout the middle.”
Gevaudan rowed with the first varsity eight which ended their weekend on a strong note. On Friday, Gevaudan and her crewmates finished fourth in both races. Their times of 6:49.29 and 6:46.311 kept them a few strokes behind their closest competition. On Saturday, however, the Irish turned it around in multiple races, headlined by the second varsity four’s win, and an improved race from the first varsity eight. Rowing a time of 6:34.072, the Irish edged out Michigan State and Dartmouth to claim second.
“I think my boat finally started to find our racing style this weekend which is really exciting going into the second half of the season,” Gevaudan commented.
The second varsity four also highlighted the second day with the Irish‘s lone victory of the regatta. The Irish got off to a solid start and posted a winning score of 7:26.636. That was good for just over 20 seconds better than the Irish‘s best time on Friday in the race.
“I thought they raced a really good race,” Stone said. “They got out well, kept plugging away, and were able to withstand somewhat of a charge from the crews coming back.”
Ultimately, Stone has been pleased with moments from his squad, and he hopes to see the consistency come together as the season winds down. The Irish travel in two weekends to Indiana for the Dale England Cup. They‘ll face Clemson, Michigan State and Indiana at that regatta. It‘s the final event before the ACC Championships for the Irish.
“We can carve out some really positive moments in each race, but I‘m not sure any boat has but together all their best segments together just yet.”
