Pittsburgh, Pa. – For the first time in program history, the Duquesne University rowing team travelled to Oak Ridge, Tenn., to make an appearance at the 56th running of the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships at Melton Lake. The SIRA Championship is a regatta established "to provide an annual championship event for SIRA member intercollegiate varsity and club rowing programs as well as invited non-member programs" and "to promote intercollegiate program participation in the sport of rowing in the southern United States." Duquesne attended the regatta as an invited non-member, non-southern program.
The regatta ran for two days, with heats and semifinals Saturday, April 18, and finals Sunday, April 19. Both days had ample sunshine for racing, with Saturday warmer and featuring an afternoon slight headwind while Sunday was markedly cooler and featured a slight tailwind. The course itself was idyllic, perfect for racing, and the Dukes set their racing shells in the waters of Melton Lake for their first SIRA Championship eager to experience one of the best regattas in the country.
VARISTY 8+
The Varsity 8+ launched for its five crew heat knowing that it would advance to the semifinals, as the progression model made the heat a race to seed lanes for semis. The competition on the course included crews from Rollins, Kansas State, Vanderbilt and Atlantic 10 rivals Dayton.
Off the start, Duquesne launched into a strong rhythm, settling into a battle for a spot in the top three, while Rollins and Dayton dropped off the pace. At the 1,000-meter mark, the racing was tight, a slight edge to Vanderbilt, while the Dukes and Kansas State hammered at each other for inches of an advantage. In the third 500 meters, Vanderbilt was able to stretch its lead over Duquesne to about ¾ of a boat length, while Kansas State pushed their bowball slightly in front of Duquesne. With the final sprint approaching, Vanderbilt built up to a sprint that broke contact with Kansas State, finishing about a seat of open water ahead of Kansas State, while Kansas State claimed a five-seat advantage over the Dukes. Further back, Dayton crossed the line 12.4 seconds behind Duquesne, with Rollins rounding out the heat.
A break of several hours followed, and the Dukes returned for their semifinal. In this race, finish placement would actually matter. Only the top three teams of the six entered would advance to the grand final, while the bottom three teams would go to the petite final. Higher stakes in play, the Dukes backed into their stake boat, ready to take on the six-crew field. The opposing crews were Drake, a rematch with Dayton and Kansas State, Louisville and Toledo. With the starting command Duquesne again sprung to try and establish itself as part of the lead pack of boats. By the 500-meter mark, Duquesne had indeed found a spot at the front of the lead group of crews. Louisville had pushed out front with open water as the race leaders, while Duquesne owned a half boat lead on Kansas State and three quarters of a boat length on Dayton, while Toledo and Drake fell off the pace. As the race approached the 1,000-meter mark, Louisville had built an unassailable lead over Duquesne, which held about a seat advantage over Kansas State. As the Cardinals and the Dukes executed their races well, the drama in the race turned to the battle between Kansas State and Dayton to claim the last spot in the Grand Finals. The Wildcats held a half boat advantage over the Flyers. Coming into the final 500 meters, Louisville was set up for a first place finish, while Duquesne held a ¾ length open water advantage over Kansas State, which had moved out bow to stern over Dayton. The Flyers, meanwhile, were under fire from a resurgent Toledo crew. At the finish line, Louisville earned a multi-length open water win over Duquesne, who had open water on Kansas State. Kansas State managed to finally break contact with Dayton by the finish line, finishing two seats of open water, while Dayton squeezed out a fourth place photo finish over Toledo, with just .012 seconds separating the crews. Drake rounded out the field.
Sunday morning, Duquesne came back out for Grand Finals, lining up against the fastest crews of the weekend in their event. In the lanes at the start line, Kansas State, Duquesne, Jacksonville, Louisville, Purdue and Vanderbilt sat ready for the start command, received it and launched into action. Very quickly, it became apparent that this race would be an absolute battle for all of the medals, as no crew was willing to relent or yield. By the 500-meter mark, Louisville had established itself as race leader, while Jacksonville's bowball maintained a hint of overlap for second. Jacksonville, however, found themselves also having to repel advances from Vanderbilt and Purdue, who were half a boat down on JU but stroke for stroke with each other, while Duquesne furiously fought to maintain contact with the Boilermakers and Commodores, down two seats to both crews and half a length up on Kansas State.
By the 1,000-meter mark, the margins remained largely unchanged, a testament to the intensity and tenacity of the athletes on the course, unwilling to cede even an inch to their opponents. Over the third 500m, Vanderbilt began to push their bowball ahead of Purdue, and began to threaten Jacksonville, while Duquesne slipped back a couple of seats on fourth-place Purdue. Over the last 500 meters, Louisville maintained their open water advantage, Jacksonville rebuffed the challenge from Vanderbilt, while Vanderbilt themselves had to stave off a furious challenge from Purdue, who themselves were being challenged by Duquesne in the final sprint, while Duquesne outlasted Kansas State, who rode half a length down to Duquesne most of the race.
SECOND VARISTY 8+
The Second Varsity 8+ was the only Duquesne crew to have two races on the weekend; their event had seven entries and was combined, for racing purposes, with the Club 2v8 category, though awards would be awarded separately for each event. In their heat, Duquesne needed to get top two, or have one of the next two fastest times between both heats, to progress to Grand Finals. With their goal of finishing top two at the top of their minds, the 2v8 launched out to take on William and Mary, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Purdue, and a 3v8 entry from Louisville.
With the starting command, Duquesne launched off the line quickly to establish themselves at the front of the field, and the hard start paid off. By the 500m mark, Louisville had established themselves as the race leaders, followed closely by Duquesne and the Louisville 3v8. Purdue and Vanderbilt trailed the Cardinals and Dukes by about half a boat, and William and Mary seemingly had trouble getting started with the race and fell off the pace quickly. At the 1000m mark, Louisville had established an open water lead over Duquesne and the Louisville 3v8, who were, for all intents and purposes, tied at the midway mark. Purdue and Vanderbilt shared a similar imperceptible margin between themselves, though both were about a boatlength back on the Cardinals and Dukes, fighting for second and third. At the 1500m mark, Duquesne hammered on the sprint early, jumping up on and seeming to surprise the Louisville 3v8, who were forced to chase Duquesne to the finish; the Dukes took second by a bow-to-stern margin over the Louisville 3v8, Purdue finished half a length up on Vanderbilt for fourth and fifth, respectively, and William and Mary finished sixth.
On Sunday, Duquesne launched for their Grand Final, a race that would award medals and the Dukes were eager to test themselves and see what they could accomplish on the course. The Grand Final featured a rematch against both the Louisville 2v8 and 3v8, as well as new opponents Jacksonville, Stetson, and Kansas State. Off the start, the Dukes jumped out to claim a spot in the lead group, and by the 500-meter mark, found themselves in third place, bowball to bowball with the Louisville 3v8, while the race lead belonged to Louisville's 2v8, but just barely, as the Cardinals had to overcome a blistering start from Jacksonville to claim the lead. Further back in the field, Stetson fought to maintain contact with Duquesne and the Cardinals 3v8, and Kansas State fought hard to hang on to Stetson's stern deck.
By halfway, the placements remained the same, Louisville first, Jacksonville second, Louisville 3v8 third, Duquesne fourth, Stetson fifth, Kansas State sixth, but the margins were a little more pronounced. Louisville had a half-length lead over Jacksonville, Jacksonville had open water over the Louisville 3v8, who was up two seats on Duquesne. Going to the 1,500-meter mark, Louisville proved it would be their race to lose, a secure margin in place over Jacksonville, while Jacksonville had a similar margin over the Louisville 3v8. The Louisville 3v8 had opened their lead on Duquesne to a whole boat length, refusing to be caught by surprise by the Dukes this time around in the sprint, and the race would then finish in that order: Louisville, Jacksonville, Louisville 3v8, Duquesne, Kansas State and Stetson.
FIRST VARSITY 4+
The Duquesne First Varsity 4 entered a crowded field that had three heats, which would progress to two seven boat semi-finals. As all boats would progress to a semi-final, the heat was more than anything about making a statement and getting a good lane for semis. Duquesne took the course along with a 2v4 from Rollins, Jacksonville, Kansas State, and a lightweight crew from University of Tampa. Off the start, Duquesne tried to establish themselves as race leader early, but Jacksonville responded to the challenge and entered a stroke-for-stroke battle that would last most of the length of the course. As the Dukes and Dolphins battled at the front, the rest of the field spread out behind them; Kansas State found themselves all alone in third, and the Tampa Lightweights held an advantage over Rollins 2v4. The field would largely remain in that order from start to finish, and the real drama of the race happened within the last 200m. In the final sprint, Duquesne was able to put together a solid sprint and forcefully establish themselves as the fastest crew in the heat, crossing the finish line a bow deck ahead of Jacksonville.
After a break of several hours, the Dukes returned to the course for their semi-final, where the top two places would advance to the Grand Final, along with the next three fastest times, to create a seven crew Grand Final and seven crew Petite Final.
The Dukes would line up on the course against the Louisville 2v4, Jacksonville, Kansas State, Louisville, Jacksonville 3v4, and Barry. As the race started, Duquesne worked their way from the stakeboats into a contest for second place. By the 500-meter mark, Louisville created separation on the group fighting for second, which included Jacksonville, Kansas State, Duquesne, and the Louisville 2v4. As the second 500m wore on, Louisville created even more of a gap, breaking contact with Kansas State, while the Wildcats found themselves in a fight with Jacksonville for second and third. Both Kansas State and Jacksonville pulled away a bit from
Duquesne and the Louisville 2v4, leaving those crews to fight for fourth and possibly use that fight to reach a bronze medal, while Jacksonville's 3v4 and Barry started to slip off the pace. As the boats came through the 1,500-meter mark, Louisville had an insurmountable advantage on the field, and would go on to claim gold, while Jacksonville and Kansas State continued to fight over silver and bronze. Duquesne had a bow to stern lead over the Louisville 2v4 and were down the same to Jacksonville. As the crews crossed the finish line, the margins remained about the same, despite all crews blasting out some sharp sprints, and the Duquesne athletes claimed fourth position overall.
SECOND VARSITY 4+
The Duquesne 2v4 entered the same event as the 1v4, so their progression model was the same. Fortunately, they drew an opposing heat to the 1v4 and didn't have to fight them directly, instead getting the experience of racing Rollins, Louisville, Stetson and both the Jacksonville 1v4 and 3v4. With the start command, Duquesne leapt into action, trying to find their way into the lead group to battle for a top spot. At the 500m mark, the crews remained pretty tight; Louisville had a bit of a lead, but the other four crews were tight on each other, with only Stetson starting to trail the pack. By the 1,000-meter mark, Louisville had clear separation on the field, while the Jacksonville 3v4 held down a solid second, half a boat up on Rollins, who themselves were half a boat up on Duquesne, while Duquesne held off Stetson by a bow to stern margin. By the 1,500-meter mark, Louisville had a clear first place, but the pack chasing second place had really tightened up, with Duquesne, Rollins, and the Jacksonville 3v4 going stroke for stroke, bowballs surging and trading positions several times per second. As the crews entered the final sprint, Jacksonville 3v4 and Duquesne dropped Rollins from the fight, and surged forward to a photofinish, with Jacksonville 3v4 pulling out a second place by a margin of .071 seconds over Duquesne.
After a long break, the Duquesne 2v4 returned to the course for their semi-final, again going into the opposite race as the 1v4. Instead, Duquesne lined up with Stetson, Jacksonville's 1v4 and 2v4, Louisville, Tampa, and the Rollins 2v4. As the seven crew race started, Duquesne tried to find a spot in the lead pack, while race leaders Louisville established about a seat of open water advantage on Jacksonville. Jacksonville held about a bow deck lead over the Jacksonville 2v4, while
Duquesne found itself in fourth, fighting for third and trying to repel Stetson and Tampa. At the halfway mark, Louisville earned even more of an open lead over the rest of the field, while the margins on the rest of the field hadn't changed much; the crews were giving their all and nobody was willing to give up even a seat to their opponents. As the athletes crashed through the 1,500-meter mark, Louisville still retained the lead, while Jacksonville was able to finally put open water on Jacksonville 3v4, who had a couple seats open water on Duquesne. Coming into the finish line, the margins between the crews comprising the grouping from first place Louisville and fourth place Duquesne didn't change, while Stetson put together a nice charge and finished fifth, with their bowball overlapping Duquesne's stroke seat. For their efforts, Duquesne's 2v4 would progress to the petite final.
On Sunday, the 2v4 lined up for their petite final against Rollins 2v4, Stetson, Jacksonville 2v4, Rollins, Tampa and the Tampa Lightweights. The starting command from the officials sounded, the Dukes left the stake boats in a fight for fourth place, but by the time they reached the 500-meter mark, the Jacksonville 2v4 had claimed first place by a seat open on Tampa, while Duquesne brought themselves level with Rollins. Both the third-place Dukes and the fourth-place Tars from Rollins harassed Tampa with every stroke, mere inches separating the bow balls of the crews. By the 1,000-meter mark, Jacksonville 2v4 retained their lead, while Duquesne and Tampa continued to hammer each other for second and third place, while Rollins began to fade back from the fight. At the 1,500-meter mark, Jacksonville still held the lead, but Tampa had closed down most of the open water gap, the all-out brawl with Duquesne pushing them up closer to the Dolphins, and Tampa held second by a bow deck over Duquesne. Duquesne continued to hammer away on its oars as Rollins' bow ball still clung onto the stern deck. The race would be decided by who could survive and outlast the aggression beating from every oar in every crew in the top four places. At the finish line, Jacksonville accumulated enough of a lead earlier in the race that the charging Tampa and Duquesne crews couldn't close the gap, but the Dukes jumped early on Tampa, earning half a boat lead in the last 250 meters. However, Tampa, caught on the back foot on the sprint, recovered and fought valiantly to reclaim second. The effort would fall 0.561 seconds short of Duquesne, which claimed a photo finish second.
QUOTABLE
"All year we've preached about having a team-first mentality, and this weekend, we had just that," head coach
Matt Carlsen said. "All four boats that travelled raced hard and made improvements from race to race. The people that stayed home had a crushing workout that produced lots of PRs. We know there is more speed to find and we are excited to find it."
UP NEXT
The Dukes return to action in their fourth weekend of racing in as many weeks, as they travel to take on Eastern Michigan and Toledo at the Ford Lake Cup in Ypsilanti, Mich.
RESULTS
Full Results
1v8: Fifth in Grand Finals
2v8: Fourth in Grand Finals
1v4: Fourth in Grand Finals
2v4: Second in Petite Final
LINEUPS
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