The Iowa rowing team dropped two duals to No. 2 Michigan and No. 15 Michigan State at a double-dual event on Lake Macbride on April 7.
The Hawkeyes fell to Michigan, 43-26, in the morning session — the Wolverines took four out of six races. Iowa scored victories in the Novice 8 and second Novice 8 matchups, but Michigan took all four Varsity matches and the head-to-head victory. The best run of the day for the Hawkeyes came from the Novice 8 boat, which finished ahead of the Wolverines with a time of 07:19.1.
"The day started off good with our two Novice 8s winning," head coach Mandi Kowal said. "The Varsity had some issues, but we made adjustments, and they paid off."
The Hawkeyes didn’t fare so well against Michigan State in the afternoon. The Spartans defeated Iowa in five of six races en route to a 45-23 victory. The lone Iowa win came courtesy of the second Novice 8 boat, which notched a time of 7:50.2 — more than 18 seconds ahead of Michigan State.
"The Big Ten is pretty fast this year," Kowal said. "It was fun to see the second Novice 8 boat go undefeated; they’ve been moving the boat very nicely."
Louisville also took part in the event but didn’t compete against the Hawkeyes.
Iowa will return to the water when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a meet against Alabama on April 21.
— by Tom Clos