Rowing preview: The Longhorn Invitational
Site: Town Lake, Austin, Texas Last Year: All four first varsity eight races in the final day of the Fifth Annual Longhorn Invitational, were decided by no more than a boat length, dramatically capping the three day regatta on Town Lake in Austin, March 20. The No. 15 Texas Rowing team raced in a total of 24 races over the weekend and won all but two of their contests. The Longhorns opened the racing on Sunday morning with five matches against Iowa, one of which included the fastest times of the Invitational at First Varsity Eights. In that event, both boats were bow to bow throughout the two kilometers until the finish when the Hawkeyes crossed just over a second ahead of the Texas crew, clocking a regatta-best winning time of 6:34.8. In the following first varsity eight matches, Kansas State and No. 17 Duke, SMU and Tulsa, and No. 12 Wisconsin and Victoria followed similar suit and stroked sub-seven minute marks in their respective races, which were all decided within six seconds. With dominant performances throughout the regatta, Texas head coach Carie Graves awarded to the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) the Longhorn Invitational Trophy at the end of competition. Last Time Out: The University of Texas women's rowing team won its fifth consecutive trophy at the Fighting Nutria on Town Lake Feb. 11. The Fighting Nutria, which began in 2002, is an annual competition between the Longhorns varsity crews and the school's club program, while the Austin Rowing Club also competed in the competition. In the women's eight race, Texas' varsity and novice eight crews turned in solid performances as they were competing for the first time since the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, Va. on Nov. 13. The Longhorns' two varsity eight boats turned in times of 29:02.00 and 29:14.00, respectively, followed by a pair of novice boats that rowed the course in 29:24.00 and 30:13.00. UT's final eight boat finished with a mark of 30:13.00.
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