Managing editor Isabella Musollino says this is Tulsa rowing’s first appearance at this invite.
Tulsa rowing faced tough competition this weekend when traveling to the Lake Natoma Invitational in Sacramento, California. The event took place at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, California, on April 6. For the 12th time, and first since 2019, Sacramento State hosted the invite following a break due to COVID-19. This is Tulsa’s first appearance at the invite.
Racing kicked off Saturday morning with all four Tulsa crews racing Gonzaga and UCLA. The 1V8 pulled a time of 6:34.4, finishing behind Gonzaga (6:29.3) but ahead of UCLA (6:38.1). The 1V8’s win against 20th-ranked UCLA is a big step forward for the program. Tulsa’s 2V8 came out with a time of 7:01.9, finishing behind both Gonzaga (6:51.9) and the UCLA 2V8 (6:48.7) and 3V8 (6:58.6). The 1V4 had similar luck, pulling a time of 7:51.7 finishing behind UCLA (7:35.8) and Gonzaga (7:41.4). Rounding out morning racing, the 2V4 finished with a time of 8:18.2, behind UCLA (7:44.2) and Gonzaga (7:48.6). Morning racing began with a 3-4 mph cross tailwind, and ended with an 8 mph crosshead.
Tulsa had better luck in afternoon racing, with crews rowing against Loyola Marymount and conference affiliate Sacramento State. The 1V8 took both LMU (7:02.3) and Sacramento State (7:04.9) with a time of 6:54.2. Tulsa’s 2V8 also defeated Sac State (7:30.9) and LMU (7:38.2), putting up a time of 7:18.0. The 1V4 pulled an 8:14.4, putting them ahead of Sac State (8:22.9) and LMU (8:37.4). Finishing the weekend of racing, the 2V4 only faced Sac State (8:16.4), falling behind with a time of 8:20.0. All crews dealt with a headwind.
Also in attendance was Miami, who Tulsa did not race this weekend.
“Overall, the racing today was a success and a good way to wrap up this phase of our season,” said Tulsa Head Coach Brandon Campbell. “We feel like we have some momentum to bring back to Tulsa as we continue our training to prepare for the championship season.”
The rowing team came to the invite following aggressive racing in Sarasota last weekend. The 1V8’s result in Florida earned them the American Athletic Conference Boat of the Week honors, the same honor the boat received last year for its performance at the Sunshine State Invite.
The team will see action again on April 26 and 27 at the Lake Wheeler Invite in North Carolina. Tulsa will see 16 competitors at Lake Wheeler, including several ranked teams: Syracuse (8), Penn (10), and Duke (13). Six other teams that the Hurricane will face received votes in the April 3 coaches poll.
The Lake Wheeler Invite will be the team’s final race before the American Athletic Conference Championship on May 12 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
