No. 11 Ohio State set the pace in the morning session, sweeping Duke in all four varsity events.
The Blue Devils' best performance came from the First Varsity eight-plus crew, as Duke lost by a margin of 5.5 seconds to the Buckeyes.
Duke, which received 13 votes in the most recent NCAA poll, came out much stronger in the afternoon against No. 5 Michigan.
Each of Duke's crews improved its times from the morning session, especially the Second Varsity four-plus, which dropped 12.1 seconds from a 7:50.9 to a 7:38.8. That Blue Devil crew nearly upended the Wolverines, as Duke lost by a mere 0.9 seconds.
However, Duke lost by an average time of 11.3 seconds in the combined eight events.
The discouraging statistic is not indicative of Duke's lack of ability; rather, it is testament to the caliber of the Big Ten.
"This is not the first time Big Ten rowing has demonstrated how strong it is," Ohio State head coach Andy Teitelbaum said. "When the Big Ten goes to race against anybody in any conference, we feel we have as good of a chance of winning as the boat next to us. It has been that way for several years now. It's a great conference to row in."
The Blue Devils now look forward to the ACC Championships, where they finished second last year to Virginia. The Cavaliers are again the favorite to win.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.