The Kansas State University women’s rowing team is set to compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship Regatta on April 18-19 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, according to an April 17 announcement. The event will take place at Melton Hill Lake and marks a consecutive weekend of racing for the Wildcats.
The regatta begins Saturday morning with heats starting at 7 a.m. Central Time, which will determine placement into ‘A’ or ‘B’ finals scheduled for Sunday. The Wildcats’ third varsity eight boat (3v8+) will be first on the water at 7:35 a.m., followed by the second varsity eight (2v8+), first varsity four (1v4+), and first varsity eight (1v8+) boats throughout the morning. Both the 1v4+ and 1v8+ crews are slated to race twice on Saturday, with additional race times depending on their heat results.
On Sunday, the second varsity four (2v4+) will compete in its final at 8:52 a.m., followed by finals for other K-State boats. Anticipated competitors include Dayton, Duquesne, Jacksonville, Rollins College and others.
“We’re looking forward to this weekend. The team has done a good job continuing to push during training while also emphasizing the technical side of our sport,” head coach Kennedy Felice said. “We’re continuing to make the most of any water time we can get. Every race, we’ve seen progress within each boat. This weekend we want to keep building on that momentum.” Felice also said, “Every time we come down the course, that is a chance for our team to keep learning and set ourselves up for Big 12s… We have made progress as a team this season and each race this weekend is another opportunity to continue pushing the program forward.”
Last season at SIRA, K-State earned medals in four events including gold in the third varsity eight plus category; silver medals were won by both first and second varsity eights while bronze went to first varsity four plus crew.
In recent competition leading up to SIRA, K-State participated in the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas on April 11 where Kansas claimed victory with 22 points. Earlier races included appearances at Sarasota’s two-kilometer event March 27-28 and Hornet Invitational March 14-15 where several Wildcat boats reached finals or recorded wins.
