Rowing competed this weekend at Duke University’s Lake Wheeler Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina, racing against several top-ranked programs and showing consistent improvement across multiple boats.
While none of GW’s five boats ranked among the top half of finishers overall, the varsity eight, second varsity eight, third varsity eight and varsity four boats all improved in overall rankings between their first and third rounds. On the heels of a sweep of Atlantic 10 competitors Duquesne and Fordham at the GW Invite on April 11, the Revolutionaries continued to build momentum, placing just behind some of the top collegiate programs throughout several rounds of their final regatta before the A-10 Championship.
The varsity eight, which was named the A-10 Boat of the Week after their lights out performance at the GW Invite earlier this month, led the way for the Revs, shedding just over four seconds across three rounds. The crew opened the regatta with a time of 6:46.43, placing sixth in its first heat and finishing 15th of 20 boats across the three heats comprising the first round.
In the second round, GW improved slightly to 6:44.42, again finishing sixth in the heat while moving up to 13th overall out of 20 boats, besting West Virginia University. The varsity eight closed the weekend with its fastest performance in the third round, clocking a 6:42.21 to place fifth in its heat and 12th overall, finishing ahead of the University of Kansas and Villanova University.
The second varsity eight opened its first round with a 6:55.97 finish, placing fourth in its heat and 13th overall, while posting a 6:59.71 in the second round for a sixth place finish. The strongest performance came in the final round, where GW dropped its time to 6:47.49 — an improvement of more than eight seconds from its first race — and placed fourth in the heat and 11th overall, the highest placement for a GW boat at the regatta.
The second varsity eighty pulled ahead of multiple boats throughout the weekend, finishing ahead of Villanova in two races and also defeating West Virginia, the United States Naval Academy and Kansas.
GW’s third varsity eight boat struggled compared to other boats, failing to finish higher than 14th of 16 boats overall across three rounds. The crew opened with a time of 7:17.50, placing dead last in their heat and placed fifth in the second round with a 7:26.02 finish. During their final round, the third varsity eight recorded its fastest time of the weekend at 7:13.287, but still finished last and 14th overall, behind the University of Alabama, University of Miami, Kansas, Navy and Villanova.
GW’s varsity four boat shaved more than 13 seconds between its first and third rounds. After opening with a 7:49.14 finish, the Revs improved to 7:48.01 in the second round. The crew’s strongest performance came in the final race, where it posted a 7:35.02, placed sixth in the heat and finished 14th overall, clearing Villanova, which posted a 7:42.48.
The second varsity four recorded its fastest performance in the first round, opening with a 7:45.24 finish, placing fifth in its heat and 17th of 21 boats overall. In the boat’s second race, they finished with a time of 7:53.52, improving on all 21 boats, finishing 15th overall and fourth among seven boats in the heat. In the final round, the Revs posted a 7:48.99 and came in last in the heat, finishing seventh and fell to 17th overall.
The regatta marked the Revs’ final competition before the A-10 Rowing Championship on May 16, held on Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J. The team won its last A-10 Championship in 2023, falling to Rhode Island in 2024 and 2025. The Revs will effectively need to win the competition to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, which is set to be held in Gainesville, Ga. from May 29-31.
