Rowers finish 3rd

The Blue Devils placed third in the 11th Annual ACC Rowing Championships, held this past weekend on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C.

Duke participated in all four races, coming in third in three of the competitions. In the Blue Devils’ best result, the Novice Eight finished in second place in an 11.5-second loss to No. 5 Virginia. The boat did, however, finish 2.6 seconds ahead of No. 14 Clemson, considered the second-best team in the conference.

Two Blue Devils also collected all-ACC honors with their performances—senior Alex Japhet and junior Emily Theys, both members of Duke’s varsity eight. The honor marks Japhet’s third time on the all-ACC squad.

Virginia swept all four races. The Cavaliers were only closely contested in the First Varsity Eight, which they won by a narrow 1.2-second margin. They remain the rowing powerhouse of the conference, having won 11 of the past 12 ACC championships.

Duke’s performance in the ACC Championship this year does imply an upward trajectory for the program. With the program only six seasons old, a third-place finish marks a significant improvement over past years.

Duke has two races remaining—it will travel to Ithaca, N.Y. Saturday to compete against Bucknell and Iowa.