Rowing's Third Varsity Eight Flips the Script at the George Mason Invitational

Sunday, April 21

Occoquan River, Va.

University of Delaware

Mason Invite

Rowing's Third Varsity Eight Flips the Script at the George Mason Invitational

4/21/2024 5:48:00 PM | Rowing

Results

FAIRFAX, Va. - University of Delaware's rowing team spent the weekend in Fairfax County, Va. for the George Mason Invitational. They raced heats and finals against ten teams on the Occoquan River's buoyed six-lane race course. The weather was mild, with a cross-headwind on the course.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Third Varsity Eight

The Blue Hen's Third Eight started the morning with a five-boat race for lanes, where they finished in second place with a time of 7:31.2, 2 seconds behind CAA Conference opponent Eastern Michigan and 3.6 seconds ahead of George Washington.
Delaware flipped the script in a very exciting grand final that saw three bow balls even at the thousand between UD, EMU, and GW. The Hens stormed the third 500 to take seats on both crews before sprinting to a solid lead across the finish line. Delaware finished in first place with a time of 7:24.8, with GW 2.1 seconds behind and EMU 3.0 seconds behind.

Second Varsity Eight

Delaware's Second Varsity Eight raced their morning heat in convincing fashion, finishing over a length ahead of the field in first place with a time of 7:09.2. In their heat were two CAA Conference opponents, EMU and Villanova. The Blue Hens cleared the Eagles and Wildcats by 8.1 and 12.7 seconds, respectively.
In the Grand Final, Bucknell pulled out ahead and a three-crew battle emerged between Delaware, GW, and West Virginia. The Blue Hens ultimately finished in third place with a time of 7:01.9, edging out West Virginia by 0.8 seconds but falling 2.9 seconds short of GW.

Varsity Four

In the morning heat for the Varsity Four, the crew shot out to a convincing lead ahead of CAA Conference opponent Eastern Michigan, but found themselves in third place behind Bucknell and St. Joseph's. Their finishing time of 8:01.9 granted them a progression to the Grand Final.
In the Grand Final, the Varsity Four again stepped out ahead of EMU, but lost the pace of the rest of the field and finished in fifth place with a time of 8:05.5

Varsity Eight

In the First Varsity Eight, the Blue Hens faced CAA competitors Villanova and EMU in their heat. They finished ahead of EMU by 1.5 seconds but were edged out by Villanova. They earned a progression through to the Grand Final with a finishing time of 7:04.2.
In the Grand Final, the First Eight experienced equipment malfunction in the first 500m, which left them off the pace of the field. They finished in sixth with a time of 7:17.2.