Women's Novice 4+ are National Champions!!!

The crew of stroke-seat Dana Brecklin, 3-seat Diana Montgomery, 2-seat Elizabeth Dunne, bow-seat Katie Ruhl, and coxswain Adele Rehkemper won the Grand Finals of the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships with a time of 7:46.4. The crew trailed MACRA champs Grand Valley until the 1200m mark of the race. Illinois fought hard to pull even with Grand Valley by the 1500m mark, at which point the coxswain made a bold call which the crew translated into a strong move to overtake Grand Valley and gain the lead. Illinois continued to push their advantage and opened up a greater lead on the field while Grand Valley began to fade. The women from Illinois won with a full boat length lead on second place Virginia Commonwealth who themselves made a strong late race push. UC Davis passed Grand Valley in the final strokes of the race to claim the bronze.This is the second National Championship for Illinois in the Novice Women’s 4+. We had previously won the event in 2012; four of the five athletes from the 2012 crew (one of whom is now an alumni) were on shore to witness today’s victory.