OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – With all five crews competing in Grand Final races on Sunday at Melton Hill Lake, the Alabama rowing team earned a trio of event medals and posted a fourth-place finish, its highest ever medal count and team finish at the conference championships.
After medaling at the conference championships for the first time last season, Alabama took silver in the First Varsity 4+ and Third Varsity 8+ and bronze in the Second Varsity 4+. It finished with 28 points, its highest team finish at a conference championship in program history.
The 3V8+ was the first race of the day for Alabama, finishing neck-and-neck with Kansas State as the Tide’s bow pushed across the line in 6:49.512, just two-tenths of a second ahead of the Wildcats in 6:49.716 to secure a silver medal for Alabama. The Tide’s 2V4+ took home a bronze medal in the next race, finishing in 7:28.153. Alabama posted its third medal finish in the next race, leading a tight pack in the 1V4+ to place second in 7:13.496 just ahead of third-place Oklahoma (7:14.829) and fourth-place Tennessee (7:16.409).
With two races remaining on the schedule, Alabama finished sixth in the Second Varsity 8+ (6:57.389) and fourth in the First Varsity 8+ (6:42.057), good enough to give the Crimson Tide a three-point team lead over Kansas State to place fourth with 28 team points.
Senior Jennifer Parker and junior Nicole Lane, both members of the Tide’s conference 1V8+ crew, earned All-Big 12 honors.
