Oct. 8, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (SMU)-SMU rowing travelled to the Head of the Oklahoma this past Saturday, Oct. 4 and competed in a series of races that showed strong effort from the squad in the Women's Collegiate Eight and Four Open. The Mustangs performed well against a field of teams that included last spring's NCAA contenders Stanford, Washington State, and Radcliffe.

Competing in the women's collegiate four open, three Mustang boats placed well in a strong field of 32. Rowing A finished in 15th clocking a time of 17:21.34, 21 seconds better than last year. Rowing B came in only two seconds behind with a time of 17:23.41 (a 35 second improvement) and finished 16th. These times are indicative of how well the SMU rowing program is training as all times are remarkable improvements over last years'.

In the qualifying round of the women's eight, two boats competed for a spot in the finals. SMU's A boat pulled in at 15:22.04 which ranked eighth and qualified the boat. The finish depicts marked progress from last year's time in this event which improved by 40+ seconds. As well, boat B came in at 16:13.99 which was a 30+ second improvement over last year's B time.

In the women's eight grand final, Rowing A finished in sixth place in the 500 meter sprint with a time of 1:43.04. In night sprint qualifiers overall, SMU placed 7th out of 12 teams. SMU rowing head coach Doug Wright is enthused about his program's development, though knows there is still progress to be made. "We performed well this past weekend. All of the crews posted faster times than last year and there is something to be said about these athletes' dedication to getting better," said Wright.

SMU rowing will compete again on Saturday, October 25 at the Head of the Colorado in Austin, Texas at Lady Bird Lake.