Over the weekend, the Iowa Rowing team competed in 21 races in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Big Ten Invitational. The Hawkeyes captured two wins and three second-place finishes.

The regatta featured thirteen teams ranked inside the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association’s top 20 like No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Virginia, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Tennessee, and No. 10 Duke.

The 16^th-ranked Hawkeyes also competed against Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Brown, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.

The Hawkeyes picked up both their wins in II Varsity 8 races, the first of which came against Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Louisville.

The Hawkeyes’ second win saw them narrowly edge Alabama, finishing less than two seconds ahead of the Crimson Tide.

Iowa’s second-place finishes came in the I Varsity 8 Saturday and I Varsity 4 on both Saturday and Sunday.

“This regatta has assembled some of the best teams in the country and this weekend’s racing has made that very clear,” Hawkeye head coach Andrew Carter said. “Our crews had mixed results this weekend, but we’re all very clear that the bar is high and that we have some work ahead of us to meet that standard. I’m confident that we have the talent on our squad to race successfully in the Big Ten Conference and beyond. The challenge ahead is to focus that talent, and our energy, on improving boat speed and racing execution.”

This Saturday, the Hawkeyes will host their only home meet of the season. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Kansas will join Iowa at the regatta to be held at Lake McBride in Solon, Iowa.