Illinois Rowing finds record success at ACRA 2024!

May 24

On Thursday, May 16th, Illinois Rowing traveled to Oak Ridge, Tennessee for the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships. We raced every day through the 19th, and came away with some massive milestones for the program. This past weekend saw Illinois Rowing’s first ever medaling eight, with the women’s novice eight taking bronze, the second fastest 2k times in program history for both the men’s and women’s varsity eights, and a bronze medal in the women’s single, rowed by senior Kendall Blankenburg. In short, this was one of the most successful ACRAs in team history. This was reflected in our overall team points ranking, moving up 3 spots from last year. We improved on last year’s results across the board where comparable, and set ourselves up for even more success next year. Two athletes were also named to the all-Great Lakes region team, Gabriel Pfister representing the men, and Norah Harson the women. This was also our first regatta racing the new King 4+ Yama-Mama, with the novice men taking her to Oak Ridge.

All of this was achieved despite a difficult spring. The weather in the Midwest was not cooperative this season, with high winds and freak cold snaps repeatedly sending the team back to the ARC on campus long after spring break. Even MACRA was canceled after only a few races had made it down the course due to extreme winds. In total, the team had fewer than 40 days of water time between November and ACRA. The team persevered through these challenges, maximizing our use of the remaining water time and making improvements every day. Catches got sharper, finishes cleaner, and rhythms smoother.

On Wednesday, the team packed up the trailer. Afterwards, as is tradition, the graduating seniors were thrown into Clinton Lake in celebration. As usual, the drive down to ACRA was smooth, with the team arriving around 3:30 to rig and go for a swing row on the course. Racing began early the next day, with time trials for the men’s varsity eight and novice four, with the MN4+ advancing to the A/B/C semifinal and the MV8+ being dispatched to the repechage. Heats for other boats followed, with the W1x and WN8+ advancing directly to the Grand Finals, the WV8+ joining the men in a repechage, and the men’s quad going to the petite final. For the varsity eights, the repechage was to prove a key race. Both boats would put down the second fastest times for a varsity eight in team history. Both boats put in incredible races, taking their rowing to the next level. The men advanced to the C/D semifinal, while the women went to the C final after a thrilling duel with Middlebury. After the reps, the team went to dinner at Woody’s Bar and Grill.

As a result, only men’s boats had Saturday races, which was all for the better, as the weather turned threatening for much of the day Saturday. Fears that racing would have to be called off entirely proved overblown, but races were moved up to avoid thunderstorms, and the all-regional awards ceremony was cancelled. The MN4+ moved on to the C final, the MV8+ to the D Final, and the M4x placed second in the petite final.

Sunday, finals day, saw a series of incredible races. The day began with the novice men’s four, which came in sixth in a tight C Final race. The next race was senior Kendall Blankenburg in the women’s single. After a series of close fights with the boats around her, Kendall broke 9 minutes to place 3rd overall, taking bronze, the first medal of the day. It would not be the last however, as Kendall was followed a few hours later by the novice women. A close fight with Bowdoin would be won by Illinois in the sprint, a pattern that would repeat throughout the rest of the day. The women’s novice eight took bronze, a huge accomplishment. Their performance marks the first time any Illinois eight has ever medaled at ACRA. The historic first puts the program as a whole in a strong position headed into next year. The WN8’s accomplishment was made all the more impressive by their battle with a number of injuries. We are incredibly excited to see them return as varsity athletes this Fall, with the summer to heal, train, and get stronger.

The varsity eights also put down stellar performances, some of the best in program history at ACRA. Both eights found a sprint speed at last, leading the women to win the C Final, and the men to place second, after a thrilling walk through Rhode Island in the last 350 meters. The women placed 10th overall, 2 higher than their seeding, and the men 20th, 9 higher than their seeding. With the majority of both boats returning next year, the future looks good for the Illinois Rowing eights. Both eights placed better than last year’s, against a stronger field, with times faster across the board. If you haven’t yet, all the Sunday finals are well worth watching, and are available on YouTube.

The Friday before ACRA, the team held its traditional end-of-year banquet, celebrating the accomplishments of the season. Awards were presented to many athletes, and speeches stretched on long into the night, as we said goodbye to the team’s seniors. This year, we also say goodbye to Coach Zoe, as she announced at ACRA. We’ve been very grateful for all her help and coaching, and are sad to see her go. We’re all very excited to come back in August and start once more.

ACRA Results: