Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1371865
47 A er 742 days — more than two years — the University of Iowa rowing team was finally able to compete at Lake McBride. e Hawkeyes were not disappointed. "We had a good, tough week of training, switching things around and facing some adversity, but as a crew we were able to pull off a hard-fought race to keep up with Wisconsin and Minnesota in the first 1k," said Izzy Bowman, a senior from Leesburg, Virginia. "I think we can work on finishing the race stronger and getting that sprint to stay competitive." e 18th ranked Iowa rowing team hosted No. 16 Minnesota, No. 19 Wisconsin, Kansas and Drake. "e sun was shining, we were able to show our black and gold, and the environment that the athletics department created for us brought a lot of enthusiasm into performing well for today's race," Bowman added. Perfect weather conditions in the morning set the stage for six races, including an Iowa victory in the II Novice 8, winning the race by more than 10 seconds. e Hawkeyes finished in second in the I Novice 8, I Varsity 4 and I Varsity 8. Both the I Novice 8 and I Varsity 4 placed the Hawkeyes within 10 seconds of the winners. In the most exciting race of the day, the I Varsity 8 pushed through the end of the race, coming to the end with Iowa finishing 0.5 seconds behind Minnesota. Iowa took third in the competitive II Varsity 8, which had the Hawkeyes within eight seconds of the winner, Minnesota. "We've seen improvement across the board," said Iowa head coach Andrew Carter, "and I'm especially excited for the women who jumped in when we needed them. I thought they did a tremendous job." With some success, there is always room for improvement as the team looks to the postseason. "In the middle section of the race we allowed things to get away from us a little bit," Carter said. "ere was so much talk about the finish, and maybe we were looking toward that. We need to bear down in the bulk of the course so when we do kick in with that sprint, it caps it off for us." e Hawkeyes look to the finish line as the postseason approaches. e crew will compete at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis on May 16 and have a chance at advancing to the NCAA Championships on May 28-30 in Sarasota, Florida.