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37 W hile the curtains close on the 2019 rowing season, the University of Iowa's future has never looked brighter. Iowa head coach Andrew Carter inherited a program in 2013 that qualified for the NCAA Rowing Championships once prior to his arrival. Following his sixth season, the Hawkeyes have made the trip three straight seasons. Iowa capped the 2019 NCAA Championships with the I Varsity Eight in ninth place, its highest national finish in program history. "It's been great to be here and perform against some of the top crews in the nation and the world," junior Eve Stewart said. e II Varsity Eight and Varsity Four both earned top 20 finishes as well, placing 16th and 15th, respectively. "We are trying to create a habit of being here and it's starting to take root," Carter said. "e next step is to start to bring our best game to the championships and we are starting to create that habit, too. Everything got kicked up a notch. I couldn't be happier for these kids and be happier for the future of our program." Iowa's 2017 appearance was about learning to compete against the nation's best, the 2018 trip was about fighting and earning its best team finish in school history, and the 2019 trip was growing and transitioning into perennial contenders. "Our future is pretty bright," Carter said. "We have a lot of young rowers on this team and have some great kids coming in next year. We lose a couple key seniors as we do every year and every year I wonder what we are going to do without them, but some of these younger rowers are showing they are made of the right stuff to fill those seats." While the I Varsity Eight is grabbing most of the attention, the II Varsity Eight's 16th place finish is just as impressive given the experience level of the group. "I was very pleased with that boat," Carter said. "ere are a lot of first-year rowers in that boat and they rowed with a lot more composure than their average experience. We have some good leadership in that boat with coxswain Faith Weiland and stroke person Rachel Canon. ey set the tone with some open-minded freshmen." For Canon, a senior, she is leaving the II Varsity Eight behind aer three years stroking the boat at the national championships. "It's been an honor to be in that seat and that boat," Canon said. "It's bittersweet, but it's been amazing to see this become a tradition for Iowa. I hope they continue to make NCAAs every year and move into the top 10 in the nation."