SMU rowing achieved seven top half finishes on April 24 during the first day of the Lake Wheeler Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The event served as the final regular season meet for SMU before the upcoming conference championship. The Mustangs competed in five races each during both morning and evening sessions against teams including Oklahoma, West Virginia, Clemson, Alabama, Lehigh, Old Dominion, Louisville, Kansas, Navy, Miami, North Carolina and Duke.
In the morning session, SMU’s third varsity eight (3v8) finished third with a time of 7:00.180 ahead of Oklahoma and West Virginia. The second varsity four (2v4) also secured third place with a time of 7:27.040 against several competitors such as Alabama and Clemson. The first varsity four (1v4) completed its race in 7:28.500 to finish ahead of multiple teams including Clemson and Old Dominion. Other notable results included a third-place finish in the second varsity eight (2v8) with a time of 6:44.860 and fourth place in the first varsity eight (1v8), finishing ahead of Old Dominion and others.
During the afternoon session heats, SMU’s performance continued with a fifth-place result in the 3v8s at 7:17.080. In other events that session, they placed third in the 2v4 (7:34.700), second in the 1v4 (7:26.280), second behind Duke in the 2v8s (6:39.460), and third overall in their final race—the first varsity eight—finishing just over three seconds behind Duke.
The Mustangs are scheduled to return for more racing on Saturday for day two of competition at Lake Wheeler starting at 8 a.m.
