Illinois Sweeps Northwestern in 1st Chicago Boat Race

The Fighting Illini drove up to Chicago the morning of Homecoming for the 1st Annual Chicago Boat Race between Illinois and Northwestern. By noon, the team was heading home with 4 more victories to cap their season.The first race was the Men's Reserves Race over a 2km course. Illinois 1F8 edged out the 2V8 by less than 6 seconds, but both finished well ahead of Northwestern's 1F8. In the Women's Reserves Race, the 1N4 from Illinois beat out the 2V4 from Illinois. Both crews bested the 1N4 from Northwestern, and the 2N4 from Illinois who finished 4th.In the 1st Varsity Men's 8+ 6km Race, the Fighting Illini took an early lead and kept building throughout. They finished well up on the 1V8 from Northwestern to win the Men's Boat Race trophy.The 1st Varsity Women's 8+ 6km Race paralleled the 1V8+ Men's Race. The Varsity Women from Illinois rowed an extremely clean race to take first by a wide margin.Perhaps most importantly, the Illini also won the fundraising competition raising a total of $7,361 for Recovery on Water, beating out the Northwestern squad who raised $2,215. Combine, the two squads raised just shy of $10,000 for Recovery on Water.This stellar performance from the Illini caps the best Fall Season in team history. The Novice Women end their Fall undefeated against Club Varsity teams.