SMU rowing achieved two first-place finishes in the varsity eight and second varsity eight races during the first day of competition at the Sarasota 2K, according to a Mar. 27 announcement.
The results mark a strong start for SMU as they returned to Sarasota for their regular season opener, competing in five races on Friday. The event took place at Nathan Benderson Park, with teams from across the country participating.
In addition to their victories, SMU’s second varsity four finished third with a time of 7:47.00, ahead of West Virginia by over 17 seconds. The third varsity eight also placed third, finishing in 7:02.13 and beating Miami and Jacksonville. In the first varsity four race, SMU posted a time of 7:34.58, placing second behind Dartmouth but ahead of Boston College, Tulsa, Drexel and High Point.
The Mustangs’ second varsity eight led their field with a winning time of 6:47.03—3.18 seconds faster than Dartmouth—and outpaced Tulsa, Boston College, Drexel and High Point as well. In the final race for SMU on Friday—the varsity eight—the team finished first again with a time of 6:32.87, surpassing Dartmouth by just over three seconds and defeating competitors from Boston College, Tulsa, High Point and Drexel.
Racing is set to continue on Saturday at Nathan Benderson Park beginning at 8 am Eastern Time.
