SARASOTA, Fla. (SMU) – SMU rowing took first in one race and second in two others on the final day of the Big Ten Invitational from Nathan Benderson Park.

"I am very happy with the way the team performed today," said head coach Chase Graham. "We were able to build on each race and put it all together with a solid final performance in the last race. 

"Our 3rd Varsity 8 had a gutsy performance led by coxswain Sophie Swords. I was impressed with Sophie's ability to bounce back from a tough performance on Saturday, it's not easy to do, but she was able to do it very well."

"The varsity 4 built off of Saturday's strong race where they closed the open water gap on Penn down to only a canvas. The confidence they took from that performance allowed them to remain calm in the early part of today's final race while they waited for their moment to push out to an open water victory. Credit to the seniors Claire Murphy and Lauren Bilafer for providing some strong leadership here. Not to be outdone by the stern pair sophomores Sydney Stuelpe, who has quietly crushed it this year in just about everything she does. And Saylor Kercher who has also had a big improvement in year two at SMU. "

"The second varsity 8 had a dogfight of a race, but I was confident watching them head into the sprint that they would deliver. Talei Dunn has been a tremendous addition to the team as a 5th year, and led the boat in stroke seat to sprint through the competition to secure the second place finish in exciting fashion." 

"The varsity 8 closed out the day with an equally strong performance, making strong moves throughout the body of the race to take control and come away with a strong finish over Iowa, Clemson, and Oklahoma. Paige Horton helped this boat from two seat. She has stepped up in a major way this year both athletically and leadership wise. Always there in tough moments to help her team focus on what's important and how to move forward." 

 
After competing in 10 races on Friday, the Mustangs had five races on the slate for the morning session in Sarasota. SMU finished in fourth in the 3v8 with a time of 7:09.582, ahead of Indiana and Miami. In the 2v4 SMU finished in fifth with a time of 8:25.644.
 
SMU captured first in the 1v4. They crossed the line in 7:31.967, 4.748 seconds ahead of Oklahoma. They also finished in front of Clemson, Michigan State and Iowa. In the 2v8, SMU came in second, four and half seconds behind Oklahoma. They finished just ahead of Michigan State and nine seconds in front of Clemson and nearly 15 ahead of Iowa.  They also took second in the 1v8. They finished less than four seconds behind first place Michigan State. They came across the line 1.874 seconds in front of Iowa and full two seconds in front of Clemson. Oklahoma finished 3.811 seconds behind SMU
 
Next week, SMU heads to the Longhorn Invitational hosted by the University of Texas April 25-26.

"Excited to get back to Dallas and train hard as we prepare for the Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas," added Graham. "It will be fun to see how we match up with the Canadian National Team, Stanford, UCF, and Texas. Always great to race in our home state of Texas this time of year."
 
SESSION THREE
3v8
1 USC 6:59.348
2 Notre Dame 7:00.858
3 UCLA 7:05.229
4 SMU 7:09.582
5 Indiana 7:13.151              
6 Miami 7:14.798
 
2v4
1 Oklahoma 7:42.002
2 Michigan State 7:49.749
3 Clemson 7:54.997
4 Iowa 8:05.181
5 SMU 8:25.644
 
1v4
1 SMU 7:31.967
2 Oklahoma 7:36.715
3 Clemson 7:37.989
4 Michigan State 7:38.816
5 Iowa 7:56.719
 
2v8
1 Oklahoma 6:41.261
2 SMU 6:45.945
3 Michigan State 6:46.077
4 Clemson 6:54.787
5 Iowa 6:59.263
 
1v8
1 Michigan State 6:36.733
2 SMU 6:40.540
3 Iowa 6:42.414
4 Clemson 6:42.746
5 Oklahoma 6:44.351
 
 
SMU LINEUPS
2v4
4 Ava Ha
3 Autumn Phillips
2 Emily Galan
Bow Shannon Strasmann
Cox Ashlyn Wilshire
 
1v4
4 Sydney Stuelpe
3 Saylor Kercher
2 Claire Murphy
Bow Lauren Bilafer
Cox Francesca La Marca
 
2v8
Cox Josephine Wilson
8 Talei Dunn
7 Dillan Delugo
6 Tabitha Hall
5 Sophia Dooley
4 Haley Schwenn
3 Jill Zwart
2 Jaime Maybery
Bow Annabelle New
 
1v8
Cox Emma Mehner
8 Izie Murray
7 Freya Weiser
6 Agne Kubaityte
5 Roxy Welford
4 Avery Bethel
3 Anna Fina
2 Paige Horton
Bow Grace Knudson
 
3v8
Cox Sophie Swords
8 Caroline Rader
7 Hannah Stevens
6 Emory Oakes
5 Nora Thompson
4 Emerson Schueller
3 Annabelle Najarian
2 Natalie Dias
Bow Emma Wynne McDade