WASHINGTON - Old Dominion women’s rowing competed in 11 races in the GW Invite that was held from Saturday to Sunday afternoon on the Potomac River.
“I think this was an overall good weekend for us. We learned a lot about racing, prepping and the need for consistency in what we do. We have to follow through on the things we know we need to do and be open to adapting,” said ODU Head Coach Brian Conley.
ODU 1V8+ took on St. Mary’s to open the competition and came in second, St. Mary’s boat finished with a time of 06:29.89 with the Monarchs clocking in at 06:39.48. ODU’s 2V8+ boat took on the Gaels in Monarch’s second race but were second best with a time of 06:50.11, with St. Mary’s taking the win with a time of 06:45.95. ODU’s 1V4+ boat faced off with St. Mary’s for a final time but could not take the win. The Gael’s boat finished at 07:22.40 and the Monarchs trailed behind with a time of 07:29.71
The Monarch’s 2v4+ competed against Georgetown’s boat but were behind the pace. ODU finished with a time of 7:40.59 with the Hoyas crossing the finish line at 07:15.68.
To begin Sunday’s races ODU’s 1V8+ boat met West Virginia and were able to turn the tide by capturing first with a time of 06:36.64 to the Mountaineers time of 06:43.72. The Monarch’s faced the Mountaineer’s 2V8+ boat but came in second clocking in at 06:58.23 to WVU’s time of 06:47.11. West Virginia’s 1V4+ matched up against ODU and finished first over the Monarchs finishing with a time of 07:32.05 to 07:40.20 for Old Dominion. The Monarch’s were able to bounce back and take the final race against the Mountaineer’s 2V4+ boat with a time of 07:39.07 to WVU’s finish at 07:47.89.
“We definitely adapted a lot this weekend as conditions were constantly changing from one race to the next and in some cases in the midst of racing, the effort was there for the team and it allowed us to have some results that we were excited about,” said Conley. “Despite effort, we realize we still have some speed we can find. We played with some line-ups in races too, so we can figure out the best combinations for all boats.”
ODU rounded out the final day taking on UC San Diego, in the first race Old Dominion’s 1V8+ boat came in second place to UCSD’s time of 06:26.97 to the Monarch’s time of 06:32.30. The Tritons took race two between 2V8+ boats clocking in at 06:39.67 ahead of ODU’s time of 06:45.37. The Monarchs 1V4+ boat came back to secure victory in race three by outpacing UCSD’s time of 07:34.84 with a winning time of 07:29.67. Old Dominion’s 2V4+ boat faced off against George Washington in the final race of the day and came in first, clocking in at 07:41.00 to GW’s time of 07:45.21.
“As we head into the last regular season race for us, I’m excited about the progress this team has made this year and still continues to make,” said Conley.
Old Dominion Rowing is back in action on Saturday, April 19 when the Monarchs take on the Temple Owls.