The University of Miami’s women’s rowing team dominated in DeLand, Fla., on Saturday against the Stetson Hatters for its first race of the spring season.
The ‘Canes raced four boats throughout the day, all crossing the finish line ahead of the Hatters for a season-opening sweep.
The 1v8 kicked off the weekend of racing, finishing the 2000m in 6:34.2.
“It was about all you can ask for from an opening race. They did a really good job of keeping their focus internal, rowing their own boats, executing their own race plans,” head coach James Mulcahy said.
This was Miami’s first short-course race with an entirely new coaching staff.
Mulcahy said that the team has been training with intent and has been doing a great job in and out of practice leading up to the start of the season.
The 2v8 race followed, adding on to the weekend victories for the ‘Canes. This boat crossed the finish line ahead of the Hatters in 6:51.5.
Miami’s 1v4 and 2v4 went head-to-head in the same race as Stetson’s only four, coming in first (7:59.1) and second place (8:35.6), respectively.
“Our main goal was to make sure that all of our boats across the board did well,” co-captain and stroke seat of the 1v4, Emma Tschetter, said.
“We wanted to make sure that all boats feel confident going into the rest of the season.”
The races took place at Stetson’s home course at the Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center on Lake Beresford, and according to Mulcahy, “the weather was quite a bit challenging…quite windy and wavy.”
“They had every reason to have some nerves, but they did a great job staying focused and taking care of the task at hand…that’s why they were able to win so convincingly,” Mulcahy said.
After a sweep, and race times that were substantially faster than those of the same season opener last spring, the ‘Canes are looking strong for what is to come leading up to the ACC Championships in May, where they are determined to land on the podium — something never before done by University of Miami rowing.
The team is already back at the boathouse preparing for next week’s races near home at the Shane Center on Miami Beach. The races will take place on Monday, March 13.